
Qass IJbSQg 



Book 



l ' =\0'^ 



WALTER R. STEINER 
COLLECTION 



FISCAR MARISON 



O'er Oceans and Continents 

WITH THE SETTING SUN 



BY 

FISCAR MARISU^ f 

o _ 

FIRST SERIES 

CHICAGO, SAN FRANCISCO, HAWAIIAN ISI<ANDS, 
JAPAN, CHINA, THE PHILIPPINES. 



Illustrated 



CHICAGO 

ROBT. O. IvAW COMPANY 
1908 



i 



USsos 



Copyright, 1908 
By GE:0. J. BIvATTKR 

All Rights Reserved 
BEQUEST or 

DR. WAi Ee e. STEriiEK 



airs* & ita Publifatiutt. tljia JSank ia JSeaprnfuUg Bi^Hifatf 5. 
^lit Author 

OHICAQO, MAROHj 1608. 



CONTENTS 



Page 
CHAPTER I 1 

The Northwestern Flyer — Whirled Over the 

Western Prairies — The Rocky Divide — Dropped 

from the Snow of Winter into Beauties of 

Spring — At the Golden Gate — Chinatown's Dens 

and Dives. 

CHAPTER II 20 

Mai de Mer — A Light for the Revelation of 
Gentiles — Interesting Company — A Trip to the 
Pali Pass, Honolulu — Again Westward on the 
Monster Waves — Into the Face of Storm — A 
Day Blotted Out — Rolling and Tumbling On- 
^ ward — Japan in Sight. 

CHAPTER III 45 

Fujiyama in the Morning Sun — Through Yeddo 
on the Jinrikisha — An Unexpected Arrival — 
From Yokohama to Kioto — Through Central 
Japan — On Board Again and Through the Island 
Maze — Nagasaki: Stained by Martyrs' Blood. 



CONTENTS 



Page 
CHAPTER IV 91 

In the Yellow Sea — Waiting for the Tide — A 

City of Four Nations — A Night on the Streets 

of Shanghai — Again on the Ocean — Hong Kong 

— The Parting of Our Ways — A Flying Trip to 

Canton — Under Portuguese Flag — On Victoria 

Heights — All Aboard for Manila. 

CHAPTER V 147 

At the Edge of a Typhoon — Past Cavite to Ma- 
nila — Quartered Near the Luneta — In Torrid 
CHme — Peering into Friars' Cells — Amid the 
Ruins of the War — Jolting Along a Filipino Rail- 
road — Up the Pasig and the Inland Lakes — 
Cascoes — Our Soldier Boys — A Visit to General 
Otis and to the Archbishop Chapelle — Jesuit 
Observatory — Roamings Through Manila — 
Aboard the Palitana. 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



Frontispiece 

Mountain Desert, Nevada 

Near Colfax, California 

Honolulu Harbor 

Mountains of Hawaii 

Mount Fujiyama 

Ride to Hotel, Yokohama 

Railroad Station, Yokohama 

Jinrikishas, Japan 

Pigeon Temple, Tokio 

On the Road to Kobe 

Oldest Temple, Kioto 

Japanese Aesculap Temple 

New Year, Nagasaki Harbor 

Martyrs' Memorial Church, Nagasaki 

Opium Hulk, Shanghai 

Chinese Fisherman 

Father Kenelly, Missionary, Shanghai 

Embarking, Orient 

Historic Banyan, Jesuit College 

Park, Macao 

Pasig River at Harbor of Manila 

Barn at Santa Ana, Where War Began 

St. Sebastian, Steel Church, Manila 



INTRODUCTION 

TO THE SECOND EDITION 

The journey, which is traced in these pages, was 
undertaken under peculiar circumstances and with 
an ulterior object. The narrative is founded 
entirely upon facts recorded en route. In its 
general bearing it will no doubt be found to differ 
materially from ordinary records of travel. 

The second edition is published, not only because 
the first has met a very favorable reception, but 
for the purpose of further advancing the publication 
of the English translation of the Spanish "Ciudad de 
Dios," one of the most remarkable books in any 
language. 

In the hope that this book of travel will gain 
friends both for the author and his English trans- 
lation of Mary of Agreda's "Ciudad de Dios," 

Respectfully, 

FiscAR Marison 
March, 1908. 



Vll 



THE INVITATION 

'Tis proof of man's dominion 

O'er all in mort-al ken, 
That he should long to see the haunts 

Of distant fellow-men. 

Therefore, sweet friend, come haste with me 

To board the waiting train: 
Linked to the snorting iron horse 

We'll scour the western plain. 

And farther still, o'er ocean wave, 

And continents we'll roam: 
Like spirits reft of body's w^eight 

We'll make the world our home. 



THE DEPARTURE 

Hark! ''All aboard!" — our train is now gliding 
Out of the station, o'er meshes of siding, 

On to the main track. 

Gaining in speed; 

Over the bridges. 

Past lights of street. 
Thundering through darkness, devouring its course 
Through the great city on Michigan's shores. 

viii 



THE DEPARTURE 



■ Avaunt ye, O night-brooding siletice and darkness, 
Yield to the glare of the headlight's advances; 

To piston-stroke 

O'er gleaming rail, 

Neath belching smoke 

On sinuous trail, 
Westward on snow-palled hillside and plain 
Westward, ho! westward we speed on our train. 

Through Illinois to the Father of Waters, 
Rumbling past Iowa's corn-laden granaries; 

Just tarrying enough 

(One wee little hour) 

On Omaha's bluff. 

Then onward we scour 
With wings of the winds, o'er the plains of the west, 
Where roamed the wild buffalo in days of the past. 

Climbing the foothills, then scaHng the mountains 
To Sierra Nevada's snow-shimmering regions; 

O'erleaping divides 

Of sage-grown Utah, 

Past flood-marked hillsides 

Of dreary Nevada; 
Whence raging, the Truckee tears down in its course 
To ocean-belapped Californian shores. 

Down from the snowfields and blizzards of winter, 



THE DEPARTURE 



Into the bosom of springtime we enter. 

Verdant the valleys, 

Balmy the air, 

Birds singing sweetly, 

Life ever3nvhere. 
The ocean is gilded by Sun's parting ray 
As we hail San Francisco on Golden Gate bay. 



CHAPTER I. 

The Northwestern Flyer. — Whirled Over 
THE Western Prairies. — The Rocky Divide. — 
Dropped from the Snow of Winter into the 
Beauties of Spring. — ^At the Golden Gate. — 
Chinatown's Dens and Dives. — ^All Aboard 
and Out to Sea. 

Here we are, kind reader, hurrying through 
the thronging crowds of passengers in the North- 
western Depot of Chicago ready to start on our 
journey westwards. Let us board one of these 
palace sleeping cars, take possession of the palatial 
berth already pointed out to us and compose 
ourselves in perfect leisure in the cushioned seats; 
for with the gliding hours of night we shall traverse 
the vast regions of the continent. Even now we 
hear the halting puff of our engine, we feel a gently 
accelerated motion and we are started on our 
breathless whirl to the Pacific Ocean. Like a vast 
serpent the locomotive and its train of coaches 
rumble into action, and, gaining headway, they 
wind through the lighted city, past its limits, into 
the wintry landscape, where the faintly gleaming 
snow supports the brooding darkness. Far into 
the gloomy night shoots the glare of the headlight, 



2 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

searching out the winding rails ahead and cutting 
a passage through the darkness for our snorting 
monster. Hundreds of living souls are linked to 
its resistless course, as it sweeps with the noiseless 
coaches over gentle slope and valley, through 
towns and villages, to the banks of the Mississippi, 
ever widening, with each nocturnal hour, the 
distance between itself and the great city on the 
lake. And when the golden rays of the morning 
sun again have chased the gloom of night, our 
train has already measured the breadth of the 
great State of Illinois, cleared at a bound the 
currents of the Mississippi, crossed Iowa, and is 
now rumbling high over the muddy waters of the 
Missouri into the City of Omaha. 

Our train had been somewhat delayed by hot 
boxes, but once out of Omaha, it again whirled 
along, over the western prairies at an accelerated 
speed. Not any more as it used to be some 2$ 
years ago, when the journey to California con- 
sumed a week. Very often in those times a num- 
ber of travelers would make up a party for such 
a trip. Each would engage to bring his^share of the 
provisions, liquid and otherwise, sufficient for the 
week and thus make the party independent of 
the primitive restaurants on the way, securing 
an enjoyable time together. But this good fellow- 
ship and conviviality are of the past. One scarcely 



OVER THE WESTERN PRAIRIES 



makes a superficial acquaintance with one or the 
other traveler, before the end of the journey makes 
a parting necessary. 

On our fleeting course over the plains of Nebraska 
the shallow bottoms of the Platte river often 
stretched like a sandy desert parallel to the left 
side of the railroad. Towards noon, after we had 
passed Buffalo Bill's great ranch, the country 
seemed to be but thinly settled. What immense 
prairies lie spread out between the waters of the 
Mississippi and the base of the Rockies and how 
they have changed in comparatively few years! 
I remember well these same prairies some thirty 
years ago, unsettled for hundreds of miles, but en- 
livened by vast herds of buffaloes roaming over the 
grassy plains. The train that carried us from Denver 
in 1872 was actually brought to a long stop by the 
passing of an immense herd of these animals, and 
rifles were busily phed in kilHng any number of them 
for mere sport. No wonder the buffalo is extinct. 

I invited a Japanese gentleman, who seemed at 
a loss to find a place in the well filled car, to take 
a seat beside me, and I was glad I had shown him 
the kindness. His carte de visite showed the name 
of K. Ishii, Kongo Kiu, Kin suke Chio, Tokio, 
Japan, and he told me that he was on a tour of 
inspection for his government. This I afterwards 
found to be true, when I hunted up his uncle in 



4 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

Tokio. He confessed himself a Buddhist, but was 
anxious to know more about the Christian rehgion, 
in which I was only too glad to be of service to him 
during the rest of our long journey. I made also 
the acquaintance of a certain Rev. Cossum, a 
Protestant missionary, who, with his wife and 
three children, was on his way to China to spread 
the light of the gospel among the heathens; but 
of him more, later on at sea, where he contributed 
his small mite toward varying the monotony of 
steamboat life. 

The next day, having passed Cheyenne during 
the night, we were climbing the mountains. At 
Castle Rock, Utah, an immense square boulder 
lowers down upon the town from a neighboring 
mountaintop like a vast fortification built in the 
clouds. Soon afterwards we were rolling over the 
desert mountain-plateau of northern Utah and 
Nevada. Sinister and barren mountain forma- 
tions, looming through the fog, rose like half- 
formed monsters from the wastes of sandy soil, 
as if they had been washed there by pristine floods. 
Nothing grows here except sparse sage bushes and 
parched bunches of grass. The country is prac- 
tically uninhabited. There was little change of 
scenery during that day. A railroad trip through 
these regions certainly is apt to impress the mind 
with the fact, that these western states are indeed 



THE ROCKY DIVIDE 



vast domains, not so quickly traversed even by 
speeding railroad trains. 

The next morning found us in the Sierra Nevada 
range, along the Truckee river. About noon we 
came suddenly upon a small town in the midst of 
an immense basin surrounded by pineclad moun- 
tains. Brightly the pure white of the snow on 
the mountain-declivities contrasted with the deep 
green of the pine forests in the valleys and 
on the slopes. We climbed the Sierra until we 
reached the altitude of 8,000 feet. At Alta a 
geyser could be seen shooting up a powerful stream 
of water from a deep valley, high over the tall 
pines that studded intervening hills. Leaving the 
town of Truckee we came upon the great snowshed, 
over 40 miles long and covering the tracks 2o 
miles on each side of the divide. As the train 
thundered through the dark curvings of the sheds, 
the beautiful mountain scenery could be traced 
through the cracks between the blackened boards, 
Hke moving pictures seen through the slits of a 
kinetoscope, while every now and then a wider 
opening between the dark sheds afforded a more 
comprehensive view. On the other side, in its 
gradual descent, the train for a while Hterally hung 
over the deep abyss of a valley, while round about, 
snowy mountaintops reared their heads into the 
clouds. Descending still farther down the Pacific 



6 O^ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

slope, the country began to present the appearance 
of spring. Everywhere the fields had been pre- 
pared and the newly sown seeds were beginning to 
sprout. Here and there many-colored blossoms 
reflected the glad sunlight and the trees spread out 
their verdure. From the snow and ice of winter we 
had in a few hours dropped into the beauties of 
spring. Who knows, but a blizzard might be 
raging at this moment behind the mountains, 
which we had just passed? 

Unfortunately our train was much delayed by 
wash-outs caused by the recent rains. On this 
account we arrived in Sacramento at dusk and 
darkness hid much of the beauties of the Sacra- 
mento valley beyond. A few hours later the 
smell of salt water heralded our approach to the 
Pacific coast. It was ii o'clock before the ferry- 
boat had brought us across the arm of the sea to 
the great ferry station in San Francisco. I lodged 
over night in the annex of the Palace Hotel, the 
largest in the city. 

Next morning I went to the Franciscan church 
to celebrate mass and there met Father Maxi- 
milian O.S.F., an old acquaintance. An hour 
later I had the pleasure of meeting the five gentle- 
men, who, according to a previous arrangement, 
were to be my companions on the journey west- 
ward. They were greatly surprised, that I should 



SAN FRANCISCO 



have been able to accept the invitation and arrive 
in time to begin the ocean trip with them. To- 
gether we attended to the necessary arrangements 
for our departure on the Gaelic on Saturday, Jan. 
6. We still had a few days at our disposal to 
take a closer look at San Francisco and its inter- 
esting sights. 

Our business calls took us past the United States 
mint, the largest in the country. Here an old 
soldier, with droll importance of manner, showed 
us and a party of other visitors the place. There 
are several vaults, carefully sealed up and con- 
taining $25,000,000 in silver dollars. Most interest- 
ing is the process of turning gold bulHon into 
shining coin. The gold is melted into ingots large 
enough to be rolled into strips five feet long, as 
thick and as wide as the coins, into which it 
is to be stamped. These are run through the 
stamping machines, that will coin half a million 
dollars worth of eagles in an hour. In another room 
silver half-dollars were being stamped out in a 
continual stream. A young man was standing 
at the trough, into which they poured, arranging 
them into rolls in the palm of his hand with clock- 
like precision. He would grab the rolls thus 
formed between his thumb and forefinger, count 
them by one glance at the size of each roll, and 
throw them aside clinking into a large box. 



8 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

The residence portion of San Francisco over- 
looks the business section and the waters of the 
Golden Gate: certainly a beautiful panorama. 
Many very fine residences are built of wood on 
account of the prevalence of earthquakes, as I 
was told; but that reason seems to me to be some- 
what strained. They are elegant and tasteful to 
a high degree. Although we had made up our 
minds to see Chinatown that night in the com- 
pany of some friendly guides, I and one of my 
friends spent a few hours there in the afternoon. 
To us, at this stage of our journey, it seemed a 
new and strange kind of world. Filth and dirt and 
the fumes of opium were noticeable on all sides. 
The streets are but narrow alleys, lined on both sides 
with tumble-down shanties, houses of bad repute, 
opium dens, shops with all kinds of Chinese trum- 
peries. The smell of roasting meat, dried speci- 
mens of the finny tribe stretched on pegs, and all 
sorts of other dainties for the Chinese stomach, 
filled the air. Numerous curio and junkshops, 
and other resorts still more distinctly belonging to 
the Chinese trade, were squeezed in between the 
eating houses, opium joints or more pretentious 
and familiar establishments. Up and down these 
narrow streets wended a continual stream of pig- 
tailed celestials in their nankeens, like a busy 
swarm of ants. 




MOUNTAIN DESERT, NEVADA 



CHINESE SHOPS 



The faces of the Chinese, for the most part, 
show the sallow complexion consequent upon the 
use of opium, or, may be, caused by other excesses. 
I have no doubt, that mostly the degraded classes 
of Chinamen seek the freedom of our western shores. 
Even they, undoubtedly, expect to return to their 
native China, in order to live there as lords on the 
thousand dollars, which they may have saved 
during their stay in this country. Now and then 
the form of some even more degraded white man, 
a victim of opium and vice, could be seen creeping 
through the crowd of celestials or issuing from 
some low dive. 

The Chinese in San Francisco, though they cling 
to their customs and dress so as to make that 
portion of the city a Canton in miniature, are not 
slow to understand the advantage of knowing 
some English. The shopkeepers had no objection 
to our looking around in their dingy and narrow 
shops and tried to converse with us in English. 
The owner of a tailorshop immediately came for- 
ward with a dictionary, asking us the pronunciation 
of some words. It was amusing to hear him try 
to pronounce the word "return;" no matter how 
strongly we made the R reverberate in his celestial 
ear, his tongue could not produce a closer imitation 
to it than an L: rrreturrrn was Htuln, for his ear 
and tongue, and nothing else. In another shop a 



10 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

swarthy Asiatic showed us his mode of counting by 
the finger board; simple numbers of any size were 
added, multipHed and subtracted with Hghtning 
speed, but fractions were a complete failure with 
the machine. 

On our way back to the hotel we entered what 
we thought to be a Catholic church. As we 
ascended the stairs, we heard a confused noise of 
many voices issuing from the open doors, but no 
sooner had we entered than it suddenly ceased. 
The auditorium was filled by a congregation entirely 
composed of men, but strange to say all eyes were 
turned on us. A man rushed from the middle 
aisle, stopping our farther progress and making 
some request, which I finally understood to be, that 
I should replace my hat. After some hesitation, 
and noticing that all the men were also wearing 
their hats, I complied and at once the spell was 
broken. The confused mingling of voices was 
resumed. We had dropped into the midst of an 
orthodox Jewish congregation. Each man was 
reading aloud from a book without any regard for 
his neighbor. After some time the rabbi handed a 
gilt cup to one of the men in the front part of the 
synagogue, and that seemed to end the service. 
Going out the usher explained, that all are required 
to wear their hats in their temple, since they believe 
that God is present no more in a synagogue built 



IN A JEWISH SYNAGOGUE 11 

by the hands of man, than under the canopy of 
heaven. Hence, why remove the hat on entering? 
Quite a vaHd reason for a Jewish synagogue, but 
worthless in regard to a Catholic church at least. 

Through the kindness of the Paulist fathers we 
secured Mr. Boland and another gentleman, both of 
whom were connected with the detective force of 
San Francisco, as our guides through the Chinese 
quarters that same evening. We first dived 
through some dark alleys and arrived in front of 
what was ironically called "Palace hotel." It 
might easily have served as a hotel at some time in 
the past, for it is a large six-story building, almost 
falling to pieces and rising like a giant over the small 
shacks of surrounding shops. After descending 
through a dark passage, we came into an open 
courtyard, surrounded on its four sides by the grim 
rear walls of the different wings of the building. 
The darkness was faintly dispelled by a flickering 
wood fire in the middle of the yard. A Chinese was 
standing near it, holding a charred piece of meat, 
which might have been that of a rat, over the 
flames. His face seemed to wear a satisfied grin 
at the prospects of enjoying his dainty titbit; but 
perhaps that impression was caused only by the 
fitful glare of the fire as it glanced to and fro on his 
rugged face. The gloom hid the rest of the court- 
yard and the surrounding walls, for not a light 



12 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

shone from the windows or doors of the "Palace 
hotel." Yet our guides told us that all the six 
stories swarmed with Chinese, who preferred to 
sink into the stupor of their opium fumes in the 
quiet of darkness. 

Only from the rear a dim light shone as from 
a dark cavern. We directed our steps towards it, 
ducking beneath a rickety stairs and low doorway. 
It was a small dingy room, more like a hole in the 
ground, where we could scarcely stand upright. 
Yet lying to the right and left in ragged bunks, 
could be seen indistinct forms, like human cor- 
morants, stupified with the fumes of opium. Before 
us in the dim candle light squatted a Chinese, who 
seemed to be the keeper of this particular den. He 
was busy trying to light the opium pipe and his 
trembling hand succeeded only with difficulty in 
causing the tiny opium pellet to bubble up and 
emit its noisome fumes. A white cat drowsily 
turned its green eyes away from us, as it softly 
glided into its master's lap in order to share with 
him his pleasure. The opium is kept in tin capsules 
and looks like dark carpenter's glue. The Chinese 
extract a drop of it with a piece of wire and form 
a small pellet. A light is then applied, causing 
it to bubble and emit smoke, as it is inserted into 
the bowl of the pipe and consumed. The smoke 
is inhaled in the same way as Turks inhale tobacco 



OPIUM FIENDS 13 



smoke, allowing it to fill the lungs. This causes 
a stupor, in which the imagination or lower facul- 
ties are excited. The use of reason, for the time 
being, is almost lost and a state of sensual pleasure 
is induced, similar to that of intoxication. As we 
issued forth from the building, an emaciated white 
man, who could scarcely creep, waylaid us in the 
main entrance, asking in whining tones for some 
money. In order to induce us to give more readily, 
he produced a small syringe, and inserting the sharp 
point into his bared arm, he forced morphine or 
cocaine into the bulging veins. It was a dis- 
gusting sight and he might as well have spared 
himself the trouble, so far as we were concerned. 

Not far from the "Palace hotel" was a many- 
colored, three-story building, whence I had heard 
the sounds of revelry already in the afternoon. 
It seems the detectives had free admission every- 
where in Chinatown, and we ascended up to the 
third story, where a notorious highbinder was 
giving a great feast. The extensive apartments 
were filled with riotous Chinamen, apparently 
more or less intoxicated. Some were dancing, 
some in groups drawling forth their maudlin 
songs, others gambling, and more were sitting at 
different tables eating and drinking. Pandemonium 
reigned in the well-lighted rooms, while a Chinese 
band kept up an incessant and monotonous jangle 



14 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

of drums, tamtams, and other unmusical instru- 
ments to heighten the effect. The highbinders 
are a secret society for mutual defense, and for 
vengeance on those who become the object of the 
hatred of its members. A pair of highbinders' 
knives were shown to us. Both knives fit into 
one scabbard and are made for the right and for 
the left hand. The highbinder grasps one in each 
hand and hacks away at his victim from both sides. 
Many of the desperate Chinese carry these knives 
concealed about their person, though that is forbid- 
den by the laws of the state under severe penalties. 
We passed on to Murderers' alley, a notorious and 
dangerous looking passage between the grimy walls 
of low buildings, which aft'orded shelter for the 
orgies of the murderers, gamblers, thieves and bad 
women. A great part of this neighborhood had to 
be closed up by the police on account of the fre- 
quent crimes committed by its inmates. Around 
the comer is the joss-house, or heathen temple 
of the Chinese. It is full of trumpery and hideous 
idols pertaining to Chinese worship. Incense 
and sandalwood were burning before some of the 
images. The whole appearance of the place is 
hideous and bizarre in the extreme and oives evi- 
dence of the perv^ersion of the Chinese mind in 
regard to religion. There were some bonzes or 
keepers, but their only object appears to be to 



LM\iAKKi::^J 



obtain fees from the visitors. There does not 
seem to be any real beHef in the sacredness of the 
place. Laughing and joking about the hideous 
gods were freely indulged in by those present, 
without any remonstrance from the Chinese; nor 
were we required to remove our hats on entering 
the so-called temple. 

Our guides introduced us also to one of the 
respectable farniHes of Chinatown. A compara- 
tively young woman vras the grandmother of a 
numerous family. She seemed quite pleased with 
our visit and chatted freely with one of the detec- 
tives. The latter drew our attention to the small- 
ness of her feet. They were not much larger, 
nor of much different shape, than those of a goat 
or sheep, so much had they been compressed in 
her youth. She was evidently proud of their 
small size, since that is a distinguishing mark of 
the Chinese beauties. The strange sights of 
Chinatown detained us till a late hour, which, 
perhaps, would not have been so safe vvithout the 
trustworthy gtiides, that accompanied us. 

Saturday, the sixth of January, was the day 
on which we were to embark on our voyage across 
the Pacific. We had already shipped our baggage 
aboard and made the necessary provisions in 
regard to tickets, berths and minor details early 
in the morning. The Steamer Gaehc, on which vre 



16 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

were to take passage, is one of the largest of the 
Oriental and Occidental S. S. Company. She was 
lying at her dock getting up steam, while throngs 
of people with and without business were crowding 
her decks and its approaches. Officials of the 
ship urging onward the men, who were storing the 
cargo; expressmen arriving with loads of trunks 
and valises, hundreds of Chinese carrying their 
baggage or loitering about in order to see ac- 
quaintances depart with their savings for their 
native land; well-dressed white passengers and 
their friends standing around or moving up and 
down over the different parts of the huge vessel; 
all this formed a scene full of bustling life and 
animation. The GaeHc was to leave at noon, but 
she was kept waiting for the mails until two o'clock. 
All the passengers had already gathered on her 
decks and several warnings had been sounded by 
the hoarse steamer whistle, before the great Hner 
began to move slowly away from its swarming 
docks. V. H. it seems, was the favored one of our 
company of six, for some lady and gentlemen 
friends had brought him several bouquets of flowers 
and for a long time, as we moved steadily west- 
wards, they could be seen standing in the bright 
sunlight on the wharf, waving their white hand- 
kerchiefs in prolonged farewell. But gradually 
the wharf and its gaudily dressed crowds of men 




NEAR COLFAX, CAL, 



PRACTICAL HINTS 17 

and women grew smaller and smaller in the widen- 
ing distance, and we were cut off from friends and 
homeland, rocking on the swelling billows of the 
great Pacific ocean. 

Practical Hints. At the end of each chapter 
I shall try to give a few practical observations in 
regard to traveling, which may be useful for those 
who are interested in such matters. — Good com- 
panionship on an extended journey is no doubt 
very desirable. Yet on account of the differences 
of opinion, which are certain to arise, it will scarcely 
prove advisable to look for more than one or two 
congenial companions. Traveling with a large 
number under the leadership of a guide is not 
objectionable, when the trip is short. But there 
is always a certain conventionality or perfunc- 
toriness, in that kind of travel, which will soon 
lessen the interest of a long journey. Tickets and 
routes should of course be determined upon before- 
hand, yet always in such a way as to include much 
freedom in regard to side trips and excursions. 
As soon as you buy a round-trip ticket you are 
bound by it and very often forced to omit the most 
interesting diversions on your route. Agencies 
are not very particular in disclosing any such dis- 
advantages; they look to proceeds, not to your 
tastes and inclinations. The less baggage you can 



18 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

get along with, the better. Gentlemen ought to 
be able to do well enough with one or two strong 
valises or handbags. It is better to rely on buying 
necessary articles of wear en route, than carry 
superfluous baggage of that kind. Those that 
need not retrench any expense, can of course have 
the best of accommodation everywhere on the 
highroads of travel. But I would not envy them 
the privilege very much. First class hotels are 
to be found in every large city in both hemispheres. 
But the very fact of their being first-class means, 
that in the main they are alike, and the experiences 
and the sights seen in them, as well as the people 
which one meets there, differ very little from 
what we are accustomed to at home. Why travel, 
when we can only go through the same round of 
experiences and associations as we are having at 
home? As a general rule, the more expensive 
the mode of travel, the less will be seen of the real 
life of the countries which we visit, and the less 
valuable will be the information gained. Nothing 
is more worthless than the traveling of the ordinary 
tourist on this very account. They lounge around 
in first-class hotels or in the soft seats of carriages, 
steamers and railroads, waste time in interminable 
meals or in languid conversations with people of 
their own class. All this they could do much more 
conveniently at home and, after the first few days, 



PRACTICAL HINTS 19 

they learn nothing new. To get the full benefit 
of travel it is necessary to stand little upon cere- 
mony, converse with people of all stations of life, 
ride in all classes of conveyances, be ready for 
exertions of all kinds and often prefer the ordinary 
hostelries of the country to the first-class hotels. 
Such a course will to a great extent prevent ennui, 
which easily sets in after some weeks of continued 
travel. 



CHAPTER II 

Mal de Mer. — ^A Light for the Revelation 
OF Gentiles. — Interesting Company. — A 
Trip to the Pali Pass in Honolulu. — ^Again 
Westward on the Monster Waves. — Into 
THE Face of a Storm. — A Day Blotted 
Out. — Rolling and Tumbling Onward. — 
Japan in Sight. 

The city of San Francisco with its high buildings 
on the bluffs, the Presidio, the cliffs and the 
towering promontories of the Golden Gate soon 
passed in panoramic view and gradually disap- 
peared, as the "Gaelic" glided on into the vast 
waters of the Pacific. Thousands of sea gulls 
followed the ship and some of them were our com- 
panions for many days. The Farellone Islands 
remained in sight long after the mighty swells of 
the Pacific had begun to make themselves felt. 

Slowly but surely, like the forebodings of ill, 
seasickness spread about on board. Many had 
already retired to the privacy of their cabins to 
hide their misery, among them some of my com- 
panions. I had made up my mind to fight it from 
the very beginning by remaining on deck as much 
as possible and by seeking some kind of occupation. 

20 



SHIPMATES 21 



On the second day my cabin-mate M. wanted 
to remain below, but yielded to my persistent 
request to fight it all out on deck. But following 
my advice he was troubled very little by the dis- 
ease afterward. 

He had become my room mate by mere acci- 
dent. His baggage had been placed in my cabin 
by some mistake of the purser. Circumstances 
afterwards shaped things in such a way, that he 
became my companion during the whole journey 
around the globe until we again arrived in Chicago. 
He had almost lost his hearing two years before and 
now one of the objects of his trip was to consult 
the most noted speciahst of Europe for the re- 
covery of his hearing. As he seemed sociable, I 
gradually became accustomed to the effort of 
speaking very loud and I had some reason to hope, 
that he would be thankful for the inconvenience 
and sacrifices his infirmity and his inexperience 
occasioned on this long journey. 

There were 78 cabin passengers, i22 of the crew, 
39 Japanese and 249 Chinese on board. All of the 
second cabins were occupied by the Japanese, as 
no white passengers would think of taking any- 
thing less than first cabin on these boats. The 
Chinese were all steerage passengers and mostly 
occupied the lower deck. They were a motley 
crowd in their nankeens, and gambUng all day. 



22 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

When the weather was fine, numbers of them were 
squatting on their mats, with stacks of Mexican 
silver dollars in front of them, ready to cast dice 
with anyone. Their whole interest was centered on 
the game; crowds were standing around the players, 
some with woe-begone faces, having no doubt lost 
all their savings and even the clothes on their 
back. Some of the young white chaps, among the 
first-class passengers, notably an Englishman, took 
a hand in the games below and left many a silver 
dollar with his Chinese brethren. On the third 
day out, a huge wave struck the lower deck and 
washed the Chinese gamblers and their improvised 
gambling tables pellmell to one side of the deck. 

It is a pleasure to stand at the railing or at the 
stern of the vessel and watch the play of the 
waters. How little is the individual, when his 
works are compared with this mighty emanation 
of the power of God! Men in our times are apt to 
brag about subjecting to their use the powers of 
nature. One of these chance waves, stirred by the 
breeze, exerts more force in its resistless course 
across the ocean than all the machinery of man 
combined. Look at yon grey sea gull that has now 
been following our vessel 1500 miles, all the way 
from San Francisco. Is not that a more wonder- 
ful feat than that this huge steamer should be 
plowing through the waves so far? It needs none 



ON BOARD THE STEAMER 23 

of the 1 22 men that serve the ship, none of the 
thousands of tons of coal ; but still onward, veering 
around in circles, now astern, now at the head of 
the vessel, it follows and doubles the course of the 
steamer on its tireless wings. 

One of our party and myself are studying 
Spanish for use in the Philippines or in Spain. 
At times I am reading, at others I enjoy myself 
playing chess. The ship's physician is quite an 
expert at the game. Captain Thomas, who is on 
his way to take charge of the Brooklyn in Hong 
Kong, Mr. Vale, a lawyer going to Manila and 
Mr. Anderson, traveHng in the interest of a Hong 
Kong bank, were some of the other players. On 
the voyage I came out second best in the number of 
games won, the doctor still holding his own. There 
were some others with whom I had more or less 
acquaintance. Mr. Blom, a Swedish lecturer, who 
intended to take views all around the world, 
O'Shaughnessy, Kerns, Vincent, Bierce, who were 
going to Honolulu, and Mr. Cossum, who was 
bound for Hankow as a missionary, a light to the 
gentiles, having as a helpmate his wife with three 
little children. He was the same gentleman, that 
I had seen in the sleeper on the way to the coast. 

On the first Sunday aboard ship, while sitting on 
the sunny side among a row of other passengers in 
all stages of the dull feeHng of seasickness, I 



24 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

noticed next to me this tall, sallow man, fondling 
an infant and every now and then trying also to 
read out of a small red book. Wishing to be 
sociable, I began a conversation, that soon turned 
upon religion of which he seemed brim full. He 
asked me, whether I knew anything of the book, 
which he held in his hand. Of course, as it was 
the New Testament, I had to plead guilty. But I 
almost staggered him, when I asked him whether 
he knew, that he had none else than the Catholic 
church to thank for its preservation and for all 
the benefits he derived therefrom? Who else but 
the Catholic church preserved that book for the 
convenience of the so-called reformers? This 
brought out his prejudice in full force: he called 
the Catholic church a harlot, fallen away from 
Christ, guilty of the blood of 50,000,000 martyrs 
through the inquisition and St, Bartholomew's day; 
her popes, monsters of iniquity, her bishops and 
priests everywhere lowering the standards of 
morality by smoking, drinking and celibacy. 
I laughed at his narrow-mindedness and made him 
squirm, when I asked him to tell me in what 
countries the inquisition held sway, and where and 
when the massacre of St. Bartholomew took place, 
for he did not know even that. It was new for him 
to hear that both had a political origin, and that all 
the victims of St. Bartholomew and the inquisition 



_^ RAMPANT BIGOTRY 25 

suffered more on account of political intrigue than 
on the score of religion, which cannot be said of 
the victims of Protestant belief in witchcraft in the 
American colonies. Besides, what monstrous exag- 
gerations are not Protestants guilty of in regard to 
these simple facts of Catholic history? 

I asked him about his mission to the Chinese and 
who authorized him to preach. He felt within him 
the call of the holy spirit, he said. As for sectarian- 
ism, he had done with that. He had joined the 
only true and the real Catholic church two years 
ago in Boston. It had already 500 members and 
had separated itself from all the other sects. That 
church, he said, had guaranteed him his expenses 
for his missionary tour during the first year, after 
that he would have to shift for himself. I asked 
him how he expected to convert the Chinese and 
whether he could reasonably hope to do much 
work for others, since he was burdened with a wife 
and three small children, and he answered: just by 
living a sweet and godly Hfe with his wife and 
family, he would convert the heathen. With what 
a smack of the Hps and how often he used that 
word "sweet." What these people meant by it, I 
could never fully make out. I doubt whether any 
of them make it out themselves. I told our friend 
that probably there are thousands of Chinese 
gentlemen living in the very district where he 



26 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

intended to shine as a model husband, who, as far as 
the treatment of their wives was concerned, would 
very likely outshine him in the eyes of those, who 
would have a chance to make comparisons. For 
that is quite a natural affair and something, in 
which many a heathen is not inferior to the best of 
Christians. The only one who could expect any 
appreciable results in missionary work, was one 
who would be unhampered by family ties and could 
give his whole time and energy to preaching and 
doing good to others. As for the call of the spirit 
that he claimed to feel, there be spirits and spirits. 
Not the least common of them was the spirit of 
self-sufficient pride, which very often makes a man 
believe he is the elect of God for great deeds, when 
in reality God would be only too well satisfied with 
ordinary results. What guarantee had he about 
the origin of that feeling within him ? The Catholic 
missionary was not sent out without having given 
the most certain signs of being called to missionary 
work. But my missionary friend merely repeated, 
that he had always been a leader of men and now 
felt the promptings of the spirit within him. 

Then he related an incident, that had happened 
to him in^Denver, to show how bigoted the Catholics 
are. He was preaching, he said, two years ago in 
that town at a street corner, and because he saw 
some Irish listeners in the crowd, he thought it 



MISSIONARY WORK 27 

would be appropriate to tell them of all the per- 
versions of. the Catholic church and her priests. 
But no sooner had he started on this subject, he 
said, than they began to raise a disturbance and 
threatened to tear him from his stand. ''And 
what had you said about the church," I asked. 
"Oh, no more than what I have told you and hun- 
dreds of audiences during my missionary tour." 
What could I do but smile at his simphcity, re- 
marking: "Sure it is a pity you did not meet more 
of the Irish. Perhaps you would be convinced 
that it is not safe to slander even the CathoHc 
church." However, as I thought the man, though 
mistaken, was earnest in his views we parted in a 
friendly manner. 

A few days after he came to me, as if by stealth, 
and handed me some yellow tracts on smoking, 
alcohol and the last judgment. I read them and 
began to pity those who rely on such stuff for doing 
good. Smoking and drinking it seems, even 
moderately, are represented as the sum total of 
evil doing. I wonder how these ministers make 
out even as well as they do, when they use moral 
leverage of that kind. Later on he kept himself 
in his cabin with his wife: we were probably too 
ungodly for him. However, nobody had conversed 
with him much except myself and one or two ladies. 
Not all had the same curiosity about him, having 



28 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

probably met his kind before, whereas for me he 
was somewhat of an amusement. Mixing freely 
with the ship's company, I heard that there is a 
prejudice against all missionaries of the Protestant 
type, aild in his peculiar case, it was considered 
little less than foolishness to drag a wife and three 
small children along to China, where he is not 
wanted and where those of his tribe, for the most 
part, are patent failures. I was surprised to see 
that this opinion was pretty well unanimous, both 
among the Americans and the few English among 
the passengers, who had been in heathen countries. 
We had several more conversations during the 
long voyage, both before and after we had passed 
Honolulu. I must say of him, that he was an 
earnest man, but so ridiculously prejudiced in 
regard to the Catholic church, and so taken up 
with his own preconceived ideas of righteousness, 
that to reason with him was breath wasted. If 
the missionaries are all of his calibre, the heathens 
may rest secure: their idolatry will not be over- 
thrown. 

During many an interview I was struck by 
the fairness of the American gentlemen in regard 
to religious views; ever ready to listen to an argu- 
ment and not rejecting any historical fact, as soon 
as it was proved, though it might argue against 
their position. At the same time, however, it is 



AMERICAN FAIRNESS 29 

painful to notice, that they dread the subject of 
religion, for fear of arousing a dispute. They act 
like men who have laid religion aside as a conun- 
drum, which cannot be solved and must be left 
alone. Who can wonder at their behavior, when 
they are surrounded during their whole life with 
the warring strife of hundreds of sects, each one of 
which half-heartedly claims to be infallible? 
Rarely do they come in contact with the Catholic 
church, so consistent in its claims at all times and 
in all essential matters. Was it, perhaps, on this 
account, that they readily entered into conver- 
sation about religion, as soon as they understood, 
that I was a Catholic priest? I certainly have 
only the most pleasant recollection of the gentle- 
men on the Gaelic; such congenial company I 
was not to meet on the twenty odd steamers that 
I had occasion to use on the rest of the journey. 

Our voyage in the meanwhile was progressing 
prosperously. It was an interesting sight on one 
of the breezy mornings, as the sun rose over the 
vast expanse of water, to see the Chinese sailors 
unfurl the huge smoke-begrimed sails. Cheerily 
the main sail, topsail and royal fluttered at first 
to the breeze, as they were loosened, but soon 
bellied to the wind, as the huge spars were drawn 
apart. They unreefed also the fore-trisail, letting 
it fall from the top along the grooved stays. The 



30 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

only sail not unreefed was the mizzen trisail and so 
the great steamer now looked like an immense bird, 
skimming over the ocean with huge dark wings. 
Yet our naval captain, Thomas of the Brooklyn, 
told me that all this spread of canvas would increase 
the speed of the vessel perhaps no more than a 
quarter of a knot an hour. 

It was a glorious day on the ocean and the 
sun held its sway over the endless expanse of blue 
waters, until it sank in the west and yielded its 
place to the silvery full moon. For a long time I 
sat all alone in the stern of the vessel, watching 
the glittering play of the gentle moonlight and the 
twinkling of the stars on the dark blue and restless 
waves of the mighty ocean. 

On Saturday, the 13 th of January, early in the 
morning, the engines ceased their seven days' 
thumping and the anchor rumbled downward. 
Of course we hurried to get upstairs. Our steamer 
had arrived at Oahu, one of the Hawaiian Islands. 
The slanting rays of the rising sun shone on the 
dark green mountains and the winding coasts of 
the island. About three miles over the water 
lay Honolulu, nestling at the foot of two moun- 
tains. The Hawaiians are scattered in a north- 
westerly direction for about 300 miles from 155th 
degree of longitude, or a point 1,800 miles west of 
San Francisco. They are a solitary group in that 




HONOLULU HARBOR 



HONOLULU 31 



wide waste of waters. The first one, Hawaii, is 
by far the largest and Hes the farthest southeast ; 
then follow in succession to the northwest: Maui, 
Lanai Molokai (the leper island) and Oahu, where 
we had arrived; then, i2o miles farther, Kauai 
and Nohau. The population is scarcely 155,000. 
Natives number 31,019. When Captain Cook dis- 
covered the islands they numbered 420,000. These 
islands are the only instance in history, where 
Protestantism has to an appreciable extent sup- 
planted heathenism. About one third of the 
natives still claim to belong more or less firmly to 
the different protestant sects or to mormonism. 
Most of the rest are Catholics, though Protes- 
tant missionaries had began their proselyting well- 
nigh a century before any Catholic preist arrived 
in the Hawaiian islands. 

We were now anchored about two miles opposite 
Honolulu, the principal city of the islands. The 
scene was a beautiful one — the deep blue waters 
of the Pacific, endlessly spreading out on the left 
in front and in the rear, the furrowed tops of the 
mountains rising to the right more than 6,000 feet 
over the city on the sea shore, the green slopes 
and sugar plantations toward the northwest, the 
winding shores and promontories to the southeast 
of the city: all this formed a varied and brilliant 
picture as the morning sun rose higher and higher. 



32 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

Vast and darksome storm clouds enveloped the 
two mountain tops in the immediate background 
of the city. Far away, on the distant slopes, a 
railroad train was puffing up a grade through the 
green hills. Like an impatient monster, a great 
sister steamboat was rising and falling on the 
gentle ocean swell, a quarter of a mile to our left, 
waiting for the tiny boat that had just parted 
from our steamer's side to transfer our mail for 
San Francisco. Small sails were wafted onward 
in their several courses by the morning breeze and 
from the city a naphtha launch was gracefully 
curving toward us, bringing the quarantine doctor. 
We were not certain whether any of the pas- 
sengers, that intended to proceed to Yokohama, 
would be allowed to land, for the bubonic plague 
had lately broken out among the native population. 
But the inspector Dr. Schultz soon rejoiced us with 
the welcome news, that the plague was entirely 
under control, and all that was required of any 
intending visitors was, that they should keep out- 
side the few quarantined squares of the city. So, 
though our ferry was but an old scow, that had 
laid fast to the sides of our steamer, it soon began 
to fill with the merry crowds who wanted to spend 
the day in Honolulu. Of course only first cabin 
passengers were allowed to go and all, except one, 
made use of the privilege. The ladies were decked 



A PLEASANT VISIT ASHORE 



out in their summer clothes and looked their best. 
The old tub. of a boat, with its open rusty engine 
and boiler, presented a picturesque sight with so 
many ladies and gentlemen, perched on and around 
the baggage that encumbered its bottom. 

We were nearly an hour in getting to Wilder's 
Wharf and our party walked to the upper end of 
King street, a Hvely thoroughfare with many fine 
houses. After some delay we secured a spacious 
carriage for lio.oo, in which six of us started for 
the Pali cHff and pass. This noteworthy and 
historical mountain scenery Ues between the two 
peaks behind the city, where we had seen the storm 
clouds hovering earlier in the morning. 

Our driver took us at first through one of the 
principal boulevards of the city. A good many 
of the residences are modern and tasteful. They 
are mostly built of California red wood, for there 
is no native building timber on the islands. Cocoa, 
royal palms, monkey palms, the wide-spreading 
swamp oak, native oak, the mangol and a fine 
species of locust, formed magnificent roofs of 
fohage in this and most of the residence streets of 
Honolulu. Flowers of many kinds were in their 
January bloom, among them a large purple- 
blossomed vine, which covered the largest trees 
and made them look like huge bouquets. The sun 
began to blaze down as on a hot July day in Chicago, 



34 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

but as we gradually ascended the gorge between 
the green mountains on either side, the tempera- 
ture grew quite chilly. A fine turnpike leads up 
to the divide and it was just then being paved with 
crushed lava stone. On each side of this turn- 
pike a tree, resembling the poplar, covered whole 
acres with a maze of inter-twining roots. The 
quawa, a sweetish fruit, grows wild along the road. 
The carriage was bringing us nearer and nearer to 
the great black storm clouds, that usually hover 
over the Pali pass or precipice. Four thousand 
feet above the level of the sea the gradual ascent is 
suddenly broken off by a precipice of several 
thousand feet in depth. At the base of this sheer 
descent a vast plain spreads out only a few feet 
above the level of the ocean. As we stood there on 
the brink of the precipice, we could trace the 
curvings of the coast line on the other side of the 
island by the w^hite breakers of the ocean, as they 
rolled furiously against the beach. Fleeting 
shadows of summer clouds spread over the plains 
below, darkening in their passage the plantation 
houses and the smiling fields of bananas and 
sugarcane. Half the world seemed opened to us 
between Diamond Head on the eastern extremity of 
the island and the receding mountains of the 
western coast. 

In the beginning of the last century, King 



HAWAIIAN SCENERY 35 

Kamehameha drove an invading enemy up to this 
precipice, where we now stood, and, after de- 
feating them here, hurled their broken ranks into 
the depths below. At that time there was no 
road leading beyond this ridge; now the turnpike 
is cut into the rocky wall and winds down to the 
plains beneath. This road was guarded by U. S. 
soldiers, who were on quarantine duty, as some 
cases of the plague had occurred on the plains. We 
were not allowed to go farther. There was such a 
strong wind blowing through this mountain pass, 
that we had to be careful not to be blown over the 
precipice. On the way down we procured from one 
of the vineyards along the road some fresh grapes, 
which were perfectly ripe, though we were now in 
the middle of January. 

Honolulu, in the opening of the gorge at the 
edge of the ocean, lay like a fairy city far beneath 
us, backed by a forest of masts and rigging. Before 
leaving the carriage we drove through the prin- 
cipal streets of the city and were charmed with the 
beautiful residences almost concealed by the 
luxurious tropical vegetation. What was form- 
erly the king's palace is now occupied by the U. S. 
administration building. The Union Presbyterian 
and the native church have particularly fine loca- 
tions. 

The natives are a mixture of Chinese and Malays 



36 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

with a certain look of intelligence in their faces. 
Their clothes did not suggest superfluity and most 
of them go barefoot. They seem to be a phleg- 
matic race, lovers of ease and voluptuousness. 
The priests at the Catholic cathedral, belonging 
to the French order of Picpus, told us, when we 
called upon them after our drive, that over half 
the population is Catholic, but that Christianity 
sits but lightly upon them on account of their 
sensuality. The Mormons are making quite an 
inroad for the same reason. Fathers Burgermann 
and Franks are now at Molokai, filling the place 
of Father Damian. 

Walking through the business portion of the 
city, we saw the Kanak women in their loose 
mother-hubbard dresses, sitting amid heaps of 
bouquets, wreaths and flowers on the sidewalks, 
not even stirring from their lounging attitude to 
induce the passers-by to purchase. Several squares, 
occupied mostly by the Chinese, were surrounded 
by a cordon of native police to prevent entrance. 
These were the infected quarters, which were to be 
entirely torn down and burned the next day. The 
same had already been done with another district 
the week before. The postoffice, where we sent 
home several postals, was yet a primitive affair: 
no delivery, no receiving boxes in the streets. 
Street cars, drawn by mules, took me from the 



GOODBYE TO HONO LULU 37 

city out to Waikiki Beach and Diamond Head. 

Diamond Head is a vast headland, picturesquely- 
jutting out into the sea. The car-driver did not 
spare the whip in order to mend the pace of the 
stubborn mules and so there was over an hour's 
waiting before the old scow was ready to return to 
the Gaelic with its load of passengers and goods. 
Some of the seventeen passengers that were to stay 
in Honolulu, had come to bid us godspeed on our 
voyage to Japan. Mr. Worms, a Frenchman and 
Mr. Bierce, who had intended to stop in the Hawai- 
ians, concluded to proceed on the voyage rather 
than risk quarantine in Honolulu. Some of the 
passengers looked downcast as we neared the 
steamer, fearing no doubt, or already feeling, the 
return of seasickness. 

It was long past six o'clock, when, after un- 
loading the new supply of fruits and provisions, 
the old ferry was cast loose, our anchor weighed, 
and the powerful engines again started on our 
westward course to Japan. Cossum, the mis- 
sionary, and his wife now sat at the same table with 
our party. They certainly gave us a good example 
in so far as they always bowed their heads and said 
grace before meals. It was a pleasure after supper 
to sit on deck, pondering over the day's sights and 
watching the shores of the islands gradually disap- 
pearing in the bright moonlight. 



38 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

Next morning as the sun was just rising over 
the water's edge, the barren island of Tahura was 
still visible in the receding rear. Numerous flying 
fish were sporting over the crests of the waves and 
schools of porpoises were tumbling at the prow. 
How dreamily these Sundays pass on board the 
steamer! Most people sat about on deck, if it 
happened to be fair weather, listlessly reading a 
book or dozing in their chairs. No games were 
played, not even in the smoker, and I am afraid 
they even thought it strange that I should play 
chess with some of the gentlemen. At 10.30 the 
Episcopalian service was held in the dining room. 
It consisted merely in the reading of some Psalms 
and the singing of one or two hymns. 

In the course of the afternoon a Chinese died, 
either of old age or opium. He was a dying man 
when he came aboard, but all the Chinese, if it is 
possible, return to die and be buried in China. 
Several others died on the long voyage, for their 
quarters in the steerage must have been very 
unhealthy, and they did not even get a change of 
air at Honolulu. The corpses were not thrown over- 
board, but were hermetically sealed up in Chinese 
coffins and reserved for burial in the celestial 
kingdom. 

Next day the sea was getting rough; showers 
began to fall, the wind changed round in our face 



RACING'^ 39 



and dark clouds covered the heavens. Towards 
noon the stormy winds rose higher and with them 
the waves. We were steaming right into the face of 
the storm. Every now and then the steamer, 
plowing through the rolling waves, shipped hun- 
dreds of tons of sea, sometimes washing even over 
the promenade deck. Monstrous it was to behold 
a giant billow heave the bow of the mighty ship 
from its watery bed and, as it rushed along, poise 
her midway on her beam for a moment, until, 
reaching the stern, it threw her rear into the air, 
exposing the whirling screw. Every time this 
happened the furious thumping of the engines in 
her bowels would send a tremor through the ship 
and set the propeller revolving at fearful speed. 
The seamen call it '^'racing" and sometimes the 
shafts break on account of the sudden change of 
resistance. All steerage passengers were battened 
down below deck and it must have been a miser- 
able day for the Chinese and Japanese in their dark 
and close quarters beneath the water line. Some of 
the more timid passengers were in great fear for the 
safety of the vessel, and many ladies sat about with 
terror in their eyes. Supper and dinner table were 
almost deserted, for seasickness held dismal sway. 
Towards noon of the next day the waves had 
subsided somewhat and the sun had dispersed the 
storm-clouds. All faces were brightening up and in 



40 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

the afternoon the decks were again crowded with 
cheery company. Bowling along merrily over 
the crested billows at about three o'clock, our 
ship was of a sudden struck by three monster 
waves from the starboard or right side. All on 
deck were caught unawares, and as the ship gave 
a fearful lurch to port and back again, the ladies 
and gentlemen were sent rolling with their chairs 
helplessly back and forth, vainly trying to clutch 
the railing or some other stable projection. I had 
been writing some of these notes; but they were 
then scattered all over deck, and it was only by 
merest chance, that the wind did not take them 
overboard. One bachelor kept tumbling about in 
the merriest of tumbling matches with a young 
lady. I don't know whether the lady enjoyed it, 
but he himself was certainly all smiles, when we 
all had finally recovered. Down on the lower 
deck the Chinese had just been eating their din- 
ner of rice and hash, when the monster wave 
rose up and bounded over the sides of the vessel. 
With one fell swoop it dashed the motley crowd 
to port and washed them back to starboard over 
the open hatches. Several were bleeding from 
severe wounds and all were thoroughly drenched 
with sea water. The invading flood merrily car- 
ried the dinnerpots, chopsticks and rice of the 
Chinese around the flooded deck for a while. 



MOUNTAINS OF HAWAII 



SEASICKNESS 41 



It is curious how seasickness affects the smell; 
I verily believe that during the time of seasickness 
the finest perfume would have been intolerable to 
me. As for the smells abounding on all kind of 
vessel, I always found them unbearable during 
seasickness. On all of the twenty-three vessels, 
that I used on the trip, I made the same observa- 
tion. 

There was no such date as the i8th of January 
for us, for on the 17th we passed the international 
date line, which in this latitude is the i8oth degree 
of longitude. We are gradually stealing a march 
on the sun as we go round the earth — one hour in 
every thousand miles westward. So at least one 
day in our lives will not have to be accounted for 
when the great judgment comes — there will be 
plenty of reckoning for the other ones, I am afraid. 

For Saturday, January 2o, I find the following 
laconic record: No note; for Sunday, January 2i: 
No notes; seasick. January 23: Weather is con- 
tinuing windy, casting up an ugly sea. January 
24: 6,000 miles west of San Francisco. Mr. B., 
who seemed to have taken a fancy to me, handed 
me a book on common-sense nutrition, by Fletcher 
of Chicago. One of the suggestions in that book 
I found valuable in my fight against seasickness, 
though the author did not intend it for that pur- 
pose. He maintained, that by continuing to mas- 



42 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

ticate the food long enough, a certain extra flavor 
is brought out in all ordinary victuals, which en- 
tirely satisfies the demands of taste and which is the 
one intended by nature as a sign that the food is 
ready for the stomach; before that peculiar flavor 
is experienced, it is harmful to swallow any kind 
of food. One small meal is then sufficient for each 
day and the work of the bowels is reduced thereby 
to a minimum. I found that by putting these sug- 
gestions into practice I could sit down at table 
with pleasure, even when suffering from seasickness. 
Thursday, January 2$, opened up stormy and 
full of mist; the ship rolled and tumbled through 
the restless waves. In the afternoon the sun had 
scattered the clouds and in the dim distance 
gleamed the mountains of Japan. We were to 
arrive at Yokohama in the morning and I had 
already made up my mind to travel through Japan 
by rail. The rest of our party would not yield 
to my solicitation to do likewise; they intended 
to return to the steamer on the same day and sail 
on, fearing that they might miss the boat at 
Kobe or Nagasaki. Mr. H. and Rev. S. intend 
to remain in Yokohama for a time. As I could 
induce none of them to venture the land trip with 
me, I began to foresee, that they intended to pro- 
ceed on the altogether safe and ordinary plan of 
everyday tourists, rigidly sticking to the prescribed 



PRACTICAL HINTS 43 

route of their round-trip ticket. Such limitation 
would hardly suit me and I proposed rather to 
travel alone. 

Practical Hints. — ^To prevent ennui durirg a long 
sea voyage, a course of reading or the study of one 
of the modern languages is very useful. Of course 
one or two traveling companions, or conversation 
with new acquaintances on board, a game of chess 
in the smoker or on deck, will do much toward 
enlivening the time. There is no absolute cure of 
seasickness for those that are subject to it; but it 
would be a great mistake to remain in the cabin, 
or much worse, to lie in one's bunk all day. To 
resolutely despise the disagreeable feeling in the 
head and stomach and to keep up interest in some 
useful or pleasant pursuit, to eat little and com- 
pletely masticate the food ; these are about the best 
means of fighting the fell disease. Those of choleric 
disposition are more subject to it than those of a 
sanguine or melancholic disposition; the sickness 
vanishes as soon as one reaches terra firma. 

As for the route to be taken from the Pacific 
coast to Japan : it is much better to go by way of 
the Hawaiian islands, and those that have time 
should spend a week or two there. The scenery 
is charming and the sight of the crater of Kilauea 
on the largest of the islands, is surely worth the 



44 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

trouble and expense. The stay on the islands will 
also be a welcome interruption of the long voyage 
of eighteen or nineteen days. On the steamers 
leaving the American coast plenty of steamer 
chairs are provided, so that it is hardly necessary 
to take one along from San Francisco. This is 
not the case in other parts of the world, and espe- 
cially not on the English steamers. It is to be 
hoped that the time will come, when competing 
lines of other nationalities will teach the English 
steamship companies to be more attentive to the 
comforts of their passengers and provide deck 
chairs for all. 



CHAPTER III. 

Fujiyama in the Morning Sun. — ^Through Yeddo 

ON THE JiNRIKISHA. ^An UNEXPECTED ARRIVAL. 

From Yokohama to Kioto through Central 
Japan. — On Board again and through the 
Island Maze. — Nagasaki, Stained by Martyrs' 
Blood. 

Early in the morning the engines ceased their 
thumping and everyone knew that we had arrived 
at the Port of Yokohama. The GaeHc had an- 
chored a few miles outside of the inner harbor in 
order to wait for the Japanese health officials. They 
arrived at 8:00 o'clock in a small launch, a fine 
looking set of doctors, though small in stature, 
dressed in dark blue uniforms with gold embroidery. 
They examined only superficially the cabin pas- 
sengers, but so much the more closely the Chinese 
crew and steerage passengers. Lying on the mer- 
chandise in the open hatches of the vessel were 
seven sealed coffins, containing the harvest of death 
among the Chinese during the twenty days' voyage. 

The Gaelic slowly curved inward closer to the 
city as soon as she was found free of the plague. 
The most conspicuous sight many miles inward on 

45 



46 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 



the mainland, was the great cone of Mount Fuji- 
yama, rising into the air in solitary splendor. The 
ruddy rays of the morning sun tinged its snowy 
top with crimson hue on one side, still leaving the 
other side in the shade. Countless sampans, rough 
unpainted boats, now began to swarm around the 
Gaelic, as she anchored not far from the shore. 
They were managed by nimble Japanese, scantily 
clad, who propelled them along in the choppy 
waves by sculling with one oar. All were eagerly 
looking for a chance to take passengers ashore. 

We were taken in charge by the steam launch 
of the Oriental Hotel. As we passed the wharves 
our attention was called to the appearance of clean- 
liness and order on the German liners comparing 
favorably with the untidiness of the French 
steamers. Coming ashore, our party of six had 
their first experience with the picturesque jinrikisha 
of the Orient. They are small buggies, provided 
with a double shaft and drawn by the lively coolies. 
Merrily the six jinrikishas, each carrying one of us, 
clattered in a row along the well paved streets of 
Yokohama through the crisp morning air. V. H. 
was in continual dread of losing his balance and 
toppling out behind — no joke, he thought, with a 
weight of 300 pounds, at such a speed over a hard 
pavement. When we arrived at the Oriental Hotel, 
he good-naturedly gave his coolie an extra reward 




MOUNT FUJIYAMA, JAPAN 



TOKIO 47 



on account of his extra weight. We wrote a few 
postals home and hurried to get the train for Tokio, 
or Yeddo, the capital of Japan, only i8 miles dis- 
tant from Yokohama. 

Yokohama looks a good deal like a modern city, 
especially near the harbor or the Bund, where the 
Europeans dwell. The depot and the railroad is 
equipped in European style and is managed almost 
in the same way. The Japanese seem to do a great 
deal of traveling, for the cars were always filled with 
passengers. As they wear shoes with wooden soles, 
there was a deafening clatter of the sandals on the 
pavement, every time the train stopped. The 
same clattering is heard on the streets wherever 
there is a crowd. When we arrived in Tokio we 
were at first at a loss where to begin our sightseeing. 
I finally cut things short by jumping on one of the 
horse cars going in the direction of the Kanon 
temple. This is an ancient place of worship, sur- 
rounded by gardens and shaded walks. Flocks of 
tame pigeons were flying to and fro, or settled on 
the ground before it, to pick the scattered grain. 
The whole neighborhood had the appearance of a 
country fair. Curious eyes followed all our motions 
as we were the only foreigners on the ground. 
Entering the temple we of course saw no reason to 
appear more reverend than the natives themselves 
and used the same freedom. Only a few poorly 



48 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

clad people were on their knees in front of the prin- 
cipal idol. Numerous other images, some of them 
most hideous, and protected by wire screens, stood 
around. There were also huge chests as collection 
boxes, the tops of which were provided with parallel 
grating, much like the cattle guards on our railroad 
tracks. In one of the shrines, a rooster and a hen, in 
nothing differing from our ordinary fowls, shared 
in the special privileges of the idols. The red- 
headed rascal seemed to enjoy life behind his wire 
screen: plenty to eat, the companionship of a 
charming mate, worshipful esteem from the two- 
legged animals outside, all this was quite enough to 
make him strut up and down his roomy gilt cage, 
satisfied with the world and casting knowing 
glances at his partner in dignity or at the passer-by. 
Some distance from this temple a great tower, 
much like the Chinese pagodas, rises about 2oo 
feet into the air. As it stands at one end of the 
city, we could survey the vast sea of one-storied 
houses, of which Tokio is mostly composed. The 
city numbers 1,400,000 inhabitants, yet there are 
no high dwelling houses. They are built of wood 
and the roofs are of tile. The doors and windows 
are generally neatly fitting frames, covered with 
white paper instead of glass, to admit a subdued 
light into the rooms, and sliding in grooves to admit 
air when so required. From the top of the tower, in 



JINRIKISHAS 49 



a wide circuit around Tokio, ranges of mountains 
were visible. The neighborhood of the tower was 
a gathering place for pleasure seekers ; booths of all 
kinds lined the passages and about a dozen large 
theaters in this neighborhood were giving perform- 
ances. The front of these theaters is so arranged, 
that large awnings or curtains can be raised, thus 
exposing to view the interior. These curtains were 
raised now and then for a few minutes, in order to 
excite the curiosity of the passersby and induce 
them to enter during the rest of the performances. 
We stood for a while to witness the wonderful feats 
of the Japanese acrobats, the fantastically dressed 
men and women walking on spheres, and the harle- 
quins at their antics. But, it seems legitimate 
pleasures are only too often the inducement to 
entice men to those of a forbidden kind; for the 
neighborhood, to judge from outward appearances 
of the houses, did not impress us as respectable. 

As the rest of our party were already getting 
anxious about missing the boat, though it was so 
early in the afternoon, I left them to their haste 
in order to shift at leisure for myself. I gave an 
extremely alert jinrikisha, man to understand, that 
I wanted to see Tokio and would gladly give him 
an extra reward for lively service. Then he began 
his breathless run, drawing me in his jinrikisha 
through miles and miles of narrow streets. Every 



50 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

inhabitant here, as in other Japanese towns, seems 
to have some kind of native merchandise for sale, 
for there are endless rows of shops, where produce 
or provisions, or such things as toys, household 
utensils, tools, pottery or basket-work are exposed 
for sale on the stand outside. Behind these wares 
could be seen the owner, sometimes with his whole 
family, sitting cross-legged on the raised platform. 
As a general thing the paper shutters were open so as 
to allow a view into the whole interior of the house. 
It was a cold day and a cutting wind swept the 
dust in volumes from the streets. The Japanese 
in the stores were generally holding their hands 
over their shibashis, or stoves, which were nothing 
more than a sort of small bowl, on which glimmered 
a few pieces of charcoal. The shibashis, however, 
have this in their favor, that all the heat remains 
in the room, whereas our stoves send most of the 
heat up the chimney. It seems the Japanese do not 
care about the cold as long as they can keep their 
hands warm. I saw a man lighting a piece of punk, 
inclose it in a tin box and store it away in his 
pocket. Upon inquiry, I found that this was a 
pocket stove, carried about for warming the hands. 
Their clothing also is so loose, that half their person 
is exposed to the wind. My nimble jinrikisha man 
ran along the streets with his legs bare from the 
knee down. 




THE RIDE TO THE HOTEL, YOKOHAMA 



HEIKIMO MiAMOTO 51 



It is wonderful how enduring the jinrikisha men 
are in dragging the cart with its passenger along on 
a continual short trot. My man ran for miles with- 
out stopping to take breath, and everywhere scores 
of others were seen scurrying through the streets. 
After making many turns in the endless streets, I 
bethought myself of the card which K. Ishii had 
given me on the train to San Francisco. I tried to 
make the coolie understand that I wished to be 
brought to the address marked thereon. As he 
could not read himself, he would every little while 
approach one of the diminutive police, and with an 
obsequious doffing of his cone-shaped hat, hand 
them the card for directions. They always 
acknowledged his bow with a solemn nod, took the 
card and in a low voice gave the necessary direc- 
tions. They sent us to the opposite end of the city 
and after many winding turns, we at last found the 
place. 

A Japanese woman came out and from her words 
and gestures, after I had given her the card, I under- 
stood that the family of Ishii had taken residence 
in another quarter of the city. But my jinrikisha 
man succeeded in hunting up Heikimo Miamoto, 
the uncle of Ishii, who, in his capacity as an official 
for foreign affairs of the Japanese government, 
spoke French well and some English. Before 
entering any Japanese dwelHng, you are expected 



52 O^ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

to take off your shoes, and in accordance with this 
requirement, a young woman, having brought Ishii's 
card to an inner apartment, reappeared with some 
Hght shppers in exchange for my shoes, before I 
should step in from the porch. This ceremony is 
easy enough for the Japanese, for their outdoor 
shoes are merely wooden sandals, into which they 
sHp the front part of their feet. With them it 
means no more than to relinquish the hold, which 
their toes have on the bands at the tips of the soles. 
How they can manage to walk at any speed in their 
primitive shoes, I could not understand. 

Though everything indicated that Miamoto was 
wealthy, his house was built as the others I had 
seen, and the doors, windows and most of the par- 
titions were merely paper paneled frames. I was 
ushered into the room corresponding to the parlor, 
furnished in the neat and cute style, peculiar to the 
Japanese taste. Although the weather was below 
the freezing point, there was no kind of heating 
arrangement. I would have been well satisfied to 
warm up a little at a cheery blaze. Miamoto soon 
came in and very politely invited me to take a seat 
on one of the stools. In manner and conversation, 
during the half hour, which I could stay, he would 
have done credit to any European host. He ordered 
some tea to be brought, which we drank from tiny 
cups, and seeing that I kept rubbing my hands, he 



JAPANESE HOSPITALITY 53 

told the servant to bring a shibashi, a small pot on 
a stand, containing some glimmering charcoal. 
On these we lighted the exquisite cigarettes, which 
he had likewise provided. We spoke in French most 
of the time and he inquired very particularly about 
Ihsii, his nephew. Before leaving, he gave me an 
introduction to the Japanese commissioners at the 
coming Exposition Universelle at Paris. 

The long ride and the visit had consumed the 
whole afternoon. It was quite dark when I got 
to the Shimbashi station to take the train to Tokio. 
My jinrikisha-runner was gladdened at being offered 
double his ordinary fee for a day's run. At the 
railroad station I fell in with a captain of the 
Japanese army, who was so pleased with me, that 
he insisted on my taking supper and a bottle of the 
Kirin beer at his expense. I was surprised to hear 
him speak German fluently. I had to promise to 
correspond with him, when I should have returned 
home. A huge porcelain pot of glowing charcoal 
diffused a grateful warmth in the dining-room. 

The cars were again crowded and I would have 
certainly been brought far beyond Yokohama, if 
one of the Japanese passengers had not awakened 
me from my sleep in the well- warmed car. At the 
Oriental hotel I had just finished my notes for the 
day and was about to go to bed, when a loud 
tapping at the door restrained me. It was V. H. 



54 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

who had gone back to the boat so early with the rest, 
but had reconsidered the matter and was now 
ready to accompany me through central Japan by 
rail. Nothing could have pleased me better than 
to have such a jolly companion on the trip. Before 
going to bed he wanted me to accompany him to 
the missionary fathers at the Catholic church, not 
far away. Though it was a late hour, they re- 
ceived us kindly, and I learnt from them that the 
bonzes are fast losing their influence and power in 
Japan on account of the vices in which they indulge, 
and on account of the gradual education of the 
people. The public processions of naked women, 
formerly held as a part of the religious ceremonies, 
by the bonzes are now forbidden. Sodomy, how- 
ever, and other unnatural vices, though now more 
concealed from public notice, are infecting the 
private life of the heathen priests and people. This 
is one of the reasons of the few conversions to 
Christianity in Japan. The Catholic church, 
though counting more converts than all the rest 
together, is yet not making great headway. As 
for Protestant Christianity: the Japanese cannot 
understand a religion without fixed authority or 
changeable tenets. The nation is in danger of 
merging their ancient heathenism into the more 
pernicious materialism and infidelity of modern life. 
The "boys," as all servants are called in the 




RAILROAD STATION, YOKOHAMA 



IN THE MOUNTAINS 55 

Orient, woke us promptly at 5 130 next morning, and 
prepared some breakfast and train lunch, so that 
we easily made the train for Kobe at 6:45. The 
fare was only about seven yen, or $3.50 for a ride 
of fourteen hours. There was a large crowd of 
passengers, filling a long train of cars. At the 
next station I found, that I had forgotten to leave 
the key of my room in the Oriental hotel. One 
of the station officials readily promised to have it 
returned: the officials of the Japanese railroads 
were everywhere remarkably polite and accommo- 
dating, and many of them spoke some English or 
French. 

The rays of the morning sun began to touch the 
tops of the distant hills as the train sped out of 
Yokohama, toward the mountains. Mount Fuji- 
yama stood out in lonely splendor, rising like an 
immense sugarloaf from the rolling plains. Sud- 
denly the ocean opened on our left, the sun's rays 
tipping the rippling wavelets with molten gold. 
The train passed through numerous towns and 
villages, hoary with age. So close do they follow, 
that in some parts of the road they are easily in 
sight of each other. Every available spot along 
the v/ay is utilized for the cultivation of rice, vege- 
tables, grain and fruits; for Japan is a densely 
populated country and there is no room to waste. 
As the growing of rice requires submerged fields, 



56 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

every watercourse, and even every spring and 
creek must serve for irrigation. Many large rivers 
are thus depleted before they reach the sea, leaving 
their white gravel bottoms exposed to view. Now 
and then a farmer furrowing the ground with primi- 
tive plough, or an ox-driver with clumsy, high- 
wheeled cart, wending his way along the narrow 
roads, could be seen from the speeding train. After 
an hour or so we began to rumble through nujnerous 
tunnels, for we were already climbing into moun- 
tainous country. 

At frequent intervals we passed ancient grave- 
yards with moss-covered monuments. The en- 
trances to them and also to many private residences 
were spanned by torii, resembling the Greek letter 
pi, and indicating the presence of a Shinto shrine. 
Under shady trees, or on the summit of hills were 
often seen the images of ancient deities, hideous 
guardians of beautiful groves and shady dells. The 
wells are furnished with the good old drawing-beams 
balanced on a post. The bucket on one end is 
lowered dangling from a rope into the well and 
drawn out by pulling at the other end of the beam. 
At Yamakita, in the midst of gaping defiles, we 
took kodak views of a romantic mountain gorge. 
The scenery here was beautiful: torrents rushed 
along the valleys, or under the railroad bridges, 
swelled by cascades and rills from the heights. The 



MOUNT FUJIYAMA 57 

chill night had formed icicles along the edges of the 
rivulets or on the moss-covered rocks, where small 
cascades sickered down to the rushing brook below. 
The sun, rising higher and peeping into the moun- 
tain gorges, glittered from the frost-clad grass and 
shrubbery. For many hours our train curved 
around the vast base of Mount Fujiyama, tower- 
ing in lonely majesty 12,365 feet above the rolling 
plains. At first, from its northern approaches, the 
mountain presented an entirely white snow-covered 
surface, but gradually, as we circled round to the 
south side, great black streaks and fissures began 
to appear, running down from the summit of the 
peak. The mountain is almost a perfect cone, 
rising in beautiful and grand proportions to the 
extinct crater above. It domineers the island far 
and wide, undisputed monarch of central Japan. 
We saw this beautiful mountain so often and under 
so many different aspects, that V. H. and myself 
gave it the title of "our friend.'* 

The prices all over Japan are extremely low; 
tea served in an earthen pot, one and one-half cents, 
tea pot and cup thrown into the bargain; six 
oranges, two cents ; twenty-five cigarettes, two and 
one-half cents. The native products in proportion. 
Some of our department stores go on the small- 
profits-many-sales principle, on a few articles in 
their lists; the Japs, it seems go in for small profits 



58 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

on all articles, and a sale at least once in a while. 
The passengers bought lunches, packed in neat 
wooden boxes, fqr two or three cents and ate them 
on the train. I saw no restaurants along the road. 
After we had finished our lunch from the hotel, 
I invested in one of the lunches. It was filled with 
rice, chopped meat, fish, eggs and pickles, all in a 
jumble : one taste of the delicacy was enough for me. 
The whole was so saturated with ill-smelling vine- 
gar, that even hunger would not act as the pro- 
verbial good cook. I asked one of the men to 
show me the use of the chopsticks that go with the 
box. I made but a poor novice in the great order 
of chopstick manipulators, you may be sure. 
They hold both the sticks between the thumb and 
fore finger of one hand and by some almost im- 
perceptible motion of these two fingers, they 
manage to fish up small quantities of the food. 

Nearly everybody smokes cigarettes, women in- 
cluded. Some of the passengers would every now 
and then haul out a tiny pipe, take a small pinch of 
tobacco, about the size of a pea, from a tin box, 
place it in the bowl, and lighting it for just one 
whiff, would, after repeating this performance a 
few times, replace the pipe in its case. It may be 
that the tobacco was saturated with opium. The 
women on the train and elsewhere looked clean and 
tidy, wearing remarkable coiffures of hair. In 




JINRIKISHAS, JAPAN 



SKIRTING FUJIYAMA 59 

addition to their own large growth of natural hair, 
they very often wear artistic braids of false hair. 
The Japanese seem to be naturallyinclined to civility 
and modesty of behavior. The rough benches of 
the cars that we occupied, were all day filled by 
more or less richly dressed Japanese men and 
women. A favorite way of sitting was in tailor 
fashion, on crossed legs. Most of them were pro- 
vided with blankets for bedding. Some of them 
also used them to keep the feet warm, while others 
placed their feet on the hot water or sand bottles, 
which was the only means of warming furnished 
on the train. A very babel of noise and confusion 
received the rumbling train at the stations. The 
clattering of wooden shoes, the varied sing-song of 
peddlers selling beer, tea, tobacco, cigarettes, 
matches, oranges, lunches and notions, the hurry- 
ing of the nimble men and women, the low- voiced 
directions of the conductors and station officials, 
the slamming of the coup6 doors, soon became a 
familiar experience. 

About seventy miles after we had passed the 
foot of Fujiyama, our train began to rumble over 
trestles and embankments across an arm of the 
ocean. We seemed to be skimming over the bosom 
of the clear waters, stretching away on both sides 
of us. This arm of the sea made a wide curve to 
our right into the land up to the base of distant 



60 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

mountains. White sails gleamed here and there 
in the sunlight and at a distance, a flock of wild 
ducks floated on the blue waters. Then we met 
the first and only sparsely settled district on our 
way. No wonder: we had entered a sandy waste, 
on which, nevertheless, the industrious people had 
made many attempts at cultivation. About loo 
miles to the right, the Kumaga Taki range reared 
its broken crags to a height of over 9,000 feet into 
the sky. We mistook it at first for "our friend" of 
the forenoon, Fujiyama; for the road had made 
many windings since. 

Already the setting sun shone on the golden 
dolphins of the great Nagoya castle, built upon a 
vast foundation of huge rocks in a wide valley in 
the foreground of Nagoya city. Having passed 
this valley, dusky night gradually set in over the 
country, gently blotting out the distant mountain 
ranges; but we almost imagined ourselves at home 
on an American train, when the electric lights of 
Osaka, the great manufacturing town of Japan, 
glimmered in the distance. Only it was hard to 
keep up the illusion, when we looked around in the 
car itself: only a kerosene lamp on one end dis- 
pelled some of the darkness and on the wooden 
benches sat and lay the dusky forms of the silent 
passengers. We ourselves, wrapped in fall over- 
coats, began to recline more than we sat upright, 



KOBE 61 



using our small satchels for pillows and dividing 
between us the heat of one of the sand bottles on 
the floor. Many a quib and joke had we indulged 
in, V. H. and I, that day; many a bantering com- 
ment on the strange sights. I wondered what the 
stolid Japanese thought of us. I noticed no unkind 
look, nor any annoyance, but sometimes a merry 
twinkle in their eyes, when we were particularly 
exuberant. I shall remember that day as a pleasant 
one and I regret that circumstances forked our 
ways apart not long after in Hong Kong. 

We arrived at Kobe, the great central harbor of 
Japan, at 10:30 and had ourselves conveyed in the 
jolly jinrikisha to the Oriental hotel. The wheels 
of my jinrikisha clattered loosely on their axles as 
the nimble cooHe ran through the dripping rain 
over the pavement of the quiet and forsaken streets. 
After writing several postals and letters, we turned 
in for a rest. 

The fourth Sunday of our journey was ushered in 
by beautiful sunHght and we were up early to get 
a chance for saying mass, if possible. After I had 
in vain looked for a barber shop in the European 
quarter of the town, a uniformed Japanese watch- 
man at last brought me to a Chinese barber, who 
cut my hair in approved style in just half the time 
usually required by a Chicago artist. I had some 
difficulty in making the policeman understand my 



62 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

wishes and it always seemed to me, that in the 
Orient the natives are very slow in understanding 
even the most evident signs. 

Before breakfast we found the Catholic mission 
and had an opportunity to say mass. Father Fage 
of the "Missions Etrangeres" welcomed us and in- 
vited us to stay a few days. After we had satisfied 
our Sunday obligations, we were informed at the 
wharf that the Gaelic would not be ready to depart 
until next day. So we at once determined to visit 
Kioto, the celebrated city of ancient temples and 
the former capital of Japan. It is of equal note in 
regard to the number and size of temples with 
Nikko and is the great center of Buddhism in the 
empire. Kobe, as a seaport, enjoys much inter- 
course with Europeans. Hence many sights, espe- 
cially in the resident portion of Kobe, were not un- 
familiar. But we met a procession of Buddhist 
priests coming down from the temples on the hill, 
looking just as gloomy and somber as any of their 
idols. I imagined that I could read the hatred of 
foreigners on their faces. They certainly scanned 
us two with no friendly look. A Salvation Army 
corporal and an Episcopal minister also passed us 
on the way. The trains and the station were full of 
people and we heard the clap-clap of the sandaled 
feet of the Japanese from afar. The fare to Kioto 
and return, a total of ninety-four miles, cost only 



KIOTO 63 



two yen, or one American dollar. Near Osaka, which 
was cut up by many canals and the branching arms 
of a large river, we saw whole acres of ground spread 
with white muslin, bleaching in the sunlight on the 
sandy riverbanks. The train sped along at the rate 
of twenty-five miles an hour up a wide valley to- 
ward the mountains, at the foot of which Kioto lies 
concealed. It is a city of 400,000 inhabitants, and 
the ancient Japanese life still prevails in its many 
narrow streets and under its low, tiled roofs. Arriv- 
ing, we at once hired a pair of jinrikishas to the 
house of Father Aurientis, M. E., about a mile from 
the depot. He lived twenty-one years in Japan 
and built a fine chi-'-^-ch in the midst of this center 
of heathendom, with what labors and sacrifices, 
God only knows. He invited us in to his scantily 
furnished Japanese dwelling and showed us the 
curious remains of a garden, that had once sur- 
rounded the house. Then he kindly offered to 
accompany us around the city and show us as much 
as possible during our stay. 

At first we wound our way through the nearest 
street, lined on both sides with continuous small 
shops of cheap wares. We soon came to beautiful, 
shaded walks up and along the spur of the moun- 
tain, at the foot of which Kioto is spread out. Im- 
mense camphor and orange trees and other ever- 
greens overarch the ancient walks up the hill. One 



64 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

can give only a faint idea of the idyllic beauty of 
the spacious temple grounds and the impression of 
hoary age, which these old temples and residences 
of the bonzes, in the midst of ever rejuvenated 
vegetation, are bound to produce in the mind of 
a stranger. While nature renews the life of the 
trees and shrubbery, of flowers and sprouting grass 
at each returning year, these buildings, reared with 
wonderful skill and attention to detail, gather 
within them and on their walls the hoariness of 
centuries: fitting monuments of so conservative a 
religious system as Buddhism and Shintoism. 

The first temple on our way was that of the Korin. 
We had to take off our shoes, as the Japanese are 
accustomed to do even before entering private 
houses, probably in order to save the mats and to 
keep the floor clean. A solitary bonze was lying 
on his face in front of the main idol. He was 
mumbling prayers, while from the mysterious back- 
ground behind, a muffled tom-tom resounded. The 
father told us this adoration was continual. The 
spacious sanctuary glittered in gilt decorations and 
the figure of the Buddhist trinity, in gold and black 
looked indeed fierce enough to impress the ignorant. 
Scores of hideous minor idols filled out the rest of 
the background and the other recesses of the temple. 
The cattleguard collection boxes were not wanting ; 
in some of these I saw much coin. A grand throne 




PIGEON TEMPLE, TOKIO 



ANCIENT TEMPLES 65 

was built near the middle of the main shrine for the 
high bonze on solemn occasions. A few country- 
people were praying on their knees or prostrate on 
their faces outside of the railing. Some of them 
occasionally rang a bell or clapped their hands to 
attract the attention of the stoical gods. They also 
threw coins into the sanctuary before the main 
shrine. 

A short way up the hill is the largest bell in 
Japan, weighing 150,000 pounds. It is of bronze, 
fully six inches thick and its rim curves inward. 
It gave an unclear sound, like that of the old fire- 
bells in Chicago. Around the Korin there are other 
temples, large and small, priests' houses, ancient 
walks bedecked with moss, shaded paths and 
beautiful groves covering the whole side of the 
mountain spur. Paganism and its priests have held 
undisputed sway for thousands of years in this spot. 
The bounteous profusion of nature and the patient 
skill of generations have united in making it a 
romantic and interesting resort as well for the 
pagan worshiper as for the inquisitive stranger. 
Passing some more gardens, we came to the 
Kromiju temple, built at the brink of a precipice 
and part of it resting on piles, rising from the steep 
incHne. From the platform built over these piles 
the pagans, no longer than thirty years ago, were 
wont to fling themselves into the precipice below 



66 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

as a sacrifice to the idols. It was the beHef, that 
such a sacrifice would be followed by immediate 
admission into the presence of the gods. 

On one of the approaches to this temple, under a 
canopy, stood a jocund, grinning god. All parts 
of its corpulent body were rubbed quite glossy, 
on account of the belief of the heathens, that any 
ailment of the body would vanish as soon as the 
corresponding part of this jolly god could be 
touched. The artist could not have put a more 
suitable expression on the fat face of the statue, 
if he had really intended to ridicule the foolish 
superstition of the devotees of this Japanese 
Aesculap. Behind the temple, in a shady ravine, 
three jets of water spring from the moss-covered 
rock. Under these ice-cold streams the Japanese 
stand for hours, in order to obtain some favors 
from their gods. The colonnades, bridges and arches 
around the temple of Kromiju, together with the 
natural scenery environing it, form a scene of 
weird beauty. 

On leaving the temple grounds a thick bamboo 
grove received us. Like vast candlesticks painted 
green and thickly set they rose from the ground to 
a height of at least 50 feet, the growth of perhaps 
only one year, and forming a dense roof of deep- 
green, oblong willow-like leaves high above the 
ground. The bamboo, after it is seasoned, is 



PARIAHS 67 



entirely incorruptible, for it contains no sap nor 
admits any moisture after it is once thoroughly 
dried. It is put to innumerable uses by the Orientals. 
In this grove we met some pariahs, as their shaved 
crowns indicated them to be. They lead a most 
abject hfe, from which, according to the merciless 
tenets of the Buddhist rehgion they can never 
rise. It is considered a disgrace for any other 
class of people to have any dealings with them. 
Just on that account I tried to enter into some 
communication with one of them at the moment 
when one of the bonzes passed us. Besides the 
scowl which the proud bonze meeted out to Father 
Aurientis, it seemed as if the flare of anger loomed 
up in his eyes, when he saw us holding communica- 
tion with the pariahs. No wonder these bonzes 
burn with subdued wrath at the encroachments of 
civiHzation and Christendom, when they see the 
wane of heathenism in the diminished influence 
of their craft and in the dwindUng of the temple 
treasuries. 

From the hill on which we were standing. 
Kioto could be seen spread out in the wide valley 
plain. The Japanese cities present an intricate 
maze of small houses and age- worn tile roofs, built 
so closely and irregularly together, that from an 
elevation one sees no traces of streets or their inter- 
sections. Before altogether leaving the neighbor- 



68 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

hood, we visited another group of temples, where 
an immense daibutsu, or image of Buddha from the 
breast upwards rises seventy feet from its pedestal 
under its airy roof. It is built of the same incor- 
ruptible wood as most of the temples. This statue 
must be extremely old. A stair leads up to the 
vast head of the image, which of course we ascended. 
Sandal wood burned before the statue, as is the case 
with most of the statues of the gods in the temples. 
Near this great daibutsu is another large bell which 
we sounded by means of a beam that is suspended 
near it like a battering ram. Deeply the great bell 
vibrated and sent forth dismal notes over the 
temple grounds and over the city below, like the 
hideous growling of a demon at being disturbed 
in his rest. Just on re-entering the residence 
district of the city, we passed the Mimizuka mon- 
ument, in which the ears of 200,000 Koreans, slain 
in war, were interred as a trophy of the victory. 
Each of us boarding a jinrikisha to go to the 
other end of the city, we passed extensive gardens 
and palaces, enclosed by high stone walls, where 
bonzes live in luxury. They have many wives 
and the high bonze has the privilege to choose a 
new wife among the beauties of the city every 
year. The Japanese, as long as they are heathens, 
believe in the absolute authority of the bonzes and 
this explains the fact that the Protestants have 



THE HONWAMIS 69 

few proselytes in Japan: these people cannot under- 
stand the utiHty of a religion in which there is no 
show of authority, and especially one which dares 
not proclaim to the world that its doctrines are 
fixed and infallible. In this the Japanese are cer- 
tainly far more consistent and logical than their 
Caucasian brothers, so many of whom claim adher- 
ence to churches that have not the courage of 
conviction. How ridiculous, the Japanese say, to 
beHeve in a messenger of God, who does not claim to 
have an infallibly true message ! The only church 
that somewhat appeals to their common sense 
notions is the CathoHc; though on account of the 
scarcity of missionaries and on account of the 
mercurial and sensuous propensities of the Japan- 
ese, the Catholic faith has not made any great con- 
quests in the islands. 

The Honwamis, the finest temples in Kioto 
were recently constructed to replace the old Hon- 
wamis, which had been destroyed by fire some 
time ago. The enormous sum of 10,000,000 yen 
equal to $5,000,000 in our money, was contributed 
by the Japanese of all classes toward the building 
of these two temples. We were told that only 
about half of this sum was really expended on the 
construction and adornment of the temples, as 
the coffers of the collecting bonzes are very leaky. 
It is an open secret, that fine temples in Japan are 



70 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

set afire, in order than an overflow might result into 
the pockets of the fire fiends from the generous 
golden streams of appropriations and popular con- 
tributions for their rebuilding. 

Entering the vast temple grounds through a 
high portal, the exterior magnificence of the 
temples at once convinced us that our guide had 
not overstated the costs. From top to foundation 
and on all the four sides, the walls consisted of ex- 
quisitely carved woods and the gilding applied 
here and there, brought the outHnes of the figures 
into beautiful relief. Here as also eleswhere in the 
Orient, I was amazed at the works of art created by 
these so-called barbarous nations, the "burdens" 
of which the white man is hypocritically exhorted 
to "take up." What for? They in many ways 
equal us and they certainly live a more contented 
hfe than the supercivilized people of Europe. 
Why do England and the other nations take up no 
strange burdens, except those that promise aggran- 
dizement and increase of trade? 

Immense pillars of the incorruptible, smoothly 
polished kayak wood support the richly carved 
panels of the ceilings in both temples. Much of 
the timber used in the construction was drawn 
from the mountain heights by ropes made of the 
hair of Japanese women, who thus offered their 
coiffures in honor of the gods. The part intended 



PAGAN SPLENDORS 71 

for public services was one mass of relief work in 
gold, centering around the principal statues of the 
Buddhist trinity. In the first of the temples these 
statues were of polished black ebony on a gold 
background. In the second and larger temple the 
richness of the decorations in the principal sanc- 
tuary beggars description. There were great 
carvings above and around the grand idols, which 
I saw equaled nowhere during the balance of my 
long journey. 

Behind the sanctuary are the mysterious apart- 
ments of the priests, whence muffled sounds of tom- 
tom and low chanting proceeded. No bloody 
sacrifices are offered in these temples: the grim 
idols must now be satisfied with offerings of rice and 
other field products a few times a year. In the 
larger temple a half score of country worshipers 
were rocking to and fro on their knees, chanting in 
mournful monotony: "have mercy on us," some- 
times casting themselves on their faces or clapping 
their hands, to attract the attention of the grin- 
ning buddhas. What a piteous sight to see these 
people sighing for relief from a pressing evil to 
dead pieces of wood, carved into hideous contor- 
tions. Magnificently the great polished pillars 
aspire to the ceiling, ending in a graceful capital, 
and making the splendid halls look more symmetri- 
cal and spacious. The floor of the temple is covered 



72 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

with costly mats and is kept scrupulously clean : an 
easy thing to do, since on the most solemn occa- 
sions the vast halls scarcely draw a few hundred 
people, and none of these are allowed to enter with 
shoes on their feet. The scanty attendance even 
on state occasions, is due to the fact that the 
Japanese are imbibing only too zealously the 
materialism and skepticism of their European 
models. From the portico of the Honwami there 
is a magnificent view over the houses of the city to 
the group of temples already described. On the 
green mountainside a white marble stairway could 
be seen leading up from them to the mauso- 
leum of the Emperor Kaiko, the first persecutor 
of Christianity in Japan. 

After drinking some Kirin beer (brewed in 
Tokio) in a Japanese restaurant and thanking 
Father Aurientis for his kind guidance, we took 
the return train to Kobe. On the cars a rough 
looking mountaineer persisted in keeping the 
window open, in spite of the cold air and drizzling 
rain that wafted in. I requested him to close it, but 
received only a surly grunt in reply. More in 
curiosity to see what he would do than for other 
reasons, I then asked him to lend me the cloak in 
which he was wrapped. But an angry scowl was 
the answer. This was the only incivility I ex- 
perienced in Japan. On the way I drew out my 



PERSONAL EXPERIENCES 73 

rosary: three of the passengers seemed immediate- 
ly to recognize it, and one of them asked me for 
information about it. I told him to go to a Catholic 
missionary, which he promised to do. The Bud- 
dhists also used beads, containing loo counters for 
hundred invocations, and afterwards on our 
journey, it was a famiHar sight to see the 
bonzes in India and Burma, the Parsees in Bom- 
bay, the Mohammedans in Turkey and the Greeks 
in Palestine and the neighboring countries, con- 
ning their several kinds of beads on the streets, in 
the stations, in the restaurants or on board ship. 
Near Osaka a man entered with a number of 
gaudy balls, like toy balloons. Being curious, I 
took hold of one of them, but the slight pressure of 
my fingers crushed in the thin film, for they proved 
to be only pastry, used for preparing meat and 
rice balls. The owner took the mishap good 
naturedly, laughing with the rest of the company 
and refusing payment for the damage. We arrived 
in a drizzling rainstorm at the Oriental hotel, 
where the passengers of the Gaelic were making 
merry. Rev. B. and M. were among the hotel 
guests: two of our party had staid in Yokohama 
on account of the effects of the long sea voyage. 
Of course V. H. and myself had much to relate 
about our interesting trip through the country. 
Instead of missing the boat, we had to wait another 



74 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

day, for the Gaelic would not attempt the dan- 
gerous passage of the Inland sea in the present 
stormy weather. Rev. B. and myself made use of 
the invitation of the fathers at the CathoHc mission 
and stayed over night at their residence. 

Getting up early in the morning after a good 
sleep and having said mass, we had a chat with 
the good fathers. They are sent by the Institu- 
tion of the Missions Etrang^res in Paris. Great 
sacrifices must these men bring in order to con- 
tinue their missionary labors in this country. No 
contributions can be expected from the natives, 
as the converts are almost exclusively the poor. 
The missionaries manage to live on 500 francs, $100 
a year, w^hich they get from the Propaganda. How 
would Protestant missionaries of heathen countries 
like missionary work at such a magnificent salary ? 
Twelve hundred dollars a year, or 6,000 francs 
with an increase of fifty dollars for each child 
born to them on the mission, is paid to some of 
the Protestant missionaries. Besides that, they 
have not, as a rule, been required to undergo a 
thorough classical and theological education of 
ten or twelve years, as is the inexorable require- 
ment for a Catholic missionary. The Catholic 
priest would be foolish indeed to expect worldly 
recompense in pagan lands. Protestant mission- 
aries, especially Americans, find the heathen mis- 




ON THE ROAD TO KOBE 



MISSIONARIES 75 



sions a much more profitable position than their 
abilities can command at home. The fathers in- 
vited me to stay with them and join the diocese, 
though they knew that the CathoHc priest is not 
at his own disposition, but depends on the orders 
of his bishop. I told them it was not impossible 
that I might return. They were Frenchmen, but 
could speak some English. The Japanese they said, 
could learn French more easily than English. We 
left them a few mass-stipends, which they were 
glad to accept. 

As there was still time left before the Gaelic 
would start off, the four of us had a walk through 
the native bazaars of Kobe. The clean and tidy 
shops were full of small articles, mostly cheap goods 
for the simple needs of daily life. Yet one can 
find many articles of European manufacture mixed 
up with native products. The little Japanese 
merchants are a dignified set; no shouting of 
fakirs, as in India and Turkey, very nice in their 
manners, quite polite and strictly honest in their 
deahng, asking but one moderate price for their 
wares. The launch of the Gaelic was already filled, 
when I arrived, somewhat later than my com- 
panions, at the wharf. So I boarded a sampan to 
get to the Gaelic a half mile out in the harbor. 
The Japanese boatman raised a ragged sail in order 
to save rowing, but the brisk wind carried us against 



76 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

the jibboom of a schooner. Our boat lurched side- 
ways, shipped the crest of a wave, and nearly jerked 
us over the gunwales. Only a desperate grasp at the 
bobstay-rope of the schooner saved us from a salt 
bath. The accident occasioned an anxious quarter 
of an hour to me, the reader may be sure. For 
already I saw huge black clouds of smoke spouting 
from the Gaelic's funnels and I heard the grating 
of the anchor, as it was torn from its watery 
grave. By dint of united effort and by cutting 
some ropes, we managed to free the endangered 
boat from its tangle and both anxiously pushing 
onward with the oars, I arrived just in time to 
grasp the ship's ladder as it was about to be drawn 
up. Of course V. H. and the rest had a laugh 
at my expense, since I had refused to return with 
them on the steamer's launch. 

Until now, at the urgent request of the other 
members of the party, I had not worn the Roman 
collar. I began to wear it, because it is much 
more convenient than any other form of neckwear 
and nobody on board ship seemed to take much 
thought about it. As long as the Catholic priest 
lives up to his calling, I see no reason for doing 
without it even on a journey around the world. 

Our gallant steamer now steered into the Seto 
Uchi or Inland Sea of Japan ; but before going any 
farther, a few general remarks about Japan may 




OLDEST TEMPLE, KIOTO 



SETO UCHI 77 



not come amiss. Japan claims a written history 
of more than 2,500 years, but the perfectly authen- 
tic history dates back no farther than 1500 years, 
i.e. to 400 of our reckoning. In 1871 the present 
emperor abrogated the old feudal system and since 
1890 a parhament shares the responsibihties of 
the emperor, much on the same plan as in Germany. 
It is entirely an island empire, ranging down in a 
southwestern direction from the northernmost 
island of Yezzo,*in about latitude 51, to Formosa, 
latitude 22, between the 146th to the 119th degree 
of longitude, a distance of more than 2,200 miles, 
parallel to the coast of China. The larger islands 
in their order southward are: Yezzo, Honda, the 
largest, through which V. H. and I had taken our 
railroad trip, Shikoku, Kiushu and Formosa, which 
latter was ceded to Japan by the Chinese after the 
war in 1895. Besides these, countless smaller 
islands belong to the empire. 

The whole group is an immense mountain range, 
heaved up from the fathomless depths of the Pacific 
ocean, rearing its heads above the waves and cul- 
minating in the snowy cone of **our friend" Fujiya- 
ma in Honda and of Mt. Morrison and Sylvia, 14,350 
ft., in Formosa. Of course the climate varies from 
the arctic cold of Yezzo to the tropical heat of 



* Since the Russian- Japanese war, the south half of Sagalien 
Island, opposite Vladivostok and several hundred miles north of 
Yezzo, also belongs to Japan. 



7S O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

Formosa. Formosa, b}^ the bj^e, is our next door 
neighbor now, only 2S0 miles to the north of Luzon, 
the main Philippine. 

The aborigines were the Ainu, but they have 
yielded to the Malay invaders, except in the moun- 
tains of Yezzo. The Japanese are of small stature, 
extremely cleanly in their habits, naturally polite 
in their manners and endowed with keen sense for 
the artistic. The language of Japan is only slightly 
related to the Chinese. There is complete religious 
toleration, and heathenism, in the form of B\id- 
dhism and Shintoism, does not enjoy any special 
privilege; but of course Buddhism, on account of 
its age and of the riches amassed in bygone cen- 
turies, is by far the most important religious ele- 
ment in the country. The Catholic religion re- 
tains firm foothold in spite of poverty and of 
former persecutions. The capital is Tokio, or 
Yeddo. Kioto was the capital of the empire 
before 1S6S, and is still the centre of Japanese 
learning, and, as we have seen, of heathenism. 
Yokohama, Kobe and Nagasaki are the principal 
harbors. The population is about 47,000,000, mth 
a tendency to rapid increase. Japan must find 
new territory for the overflow of its population. 

But to resume the narrative of our journey. 
Our steamer pushed its prow into the maze of 
islands, that dot the Inland sea, enclosed between 



iiHiii:;(, IS J A PAX j'.i 

the two main islands of Honda and Shikoku. 
The vessel was under the ^^^uidance of a s^jccial 
pilot; for, to find and remenriloer the v/inding course 
amid the hidden shoals and rocks betv/een the 
ever narrov/ing and v/idening shores, could be 
entrusted only to one v/ho had made of it a life's 
study. New island groups v/ould rise ahead, as 
those on our flanks glided by, or clusters of them 
would dv/indle into the distance behind, v/hile 
the snowcapped mountains of the mainland to our 
right rose on the horizon. Not unfrequently high- 
peaked islands shut off the immediate outlook to 
the left. There was a continual change of beauti- 
ful scenery, for the rugged shores and contours 
of the islands are extremely diversified. Villages 
nestling at the base of the steep cliffs or spreading 
out on the sloping plains, showed by their fre- 
quency the thick population of the islands. Occa- 
sionally the sea would widen out and disclose a 
panorama of islands and their towns and villages 
circling round. At one time, without changing 
position, V. H. and I counted seventeen towns in 
full view. Numerous lighthouses and buoys give 
friendly indication of the safest course for vessels. 
What a region for the jolly pirates of old! In 
former times no doubt, the broken shores and the 
maze of islands afforded hiding places for many a 
Chinese or Japanese junk, intent on nefarious pur- 



80 O^ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

suits; nor are these waters entirely free from such 
craft at present, of course confining themselves to 
minor prey. Boats of all kinds, with large and 
small sails, brigs, Chinese junks, Japanese sampans, 
large and small, schooners, steamboats, and 
especially fishing smacks of all sizes and preten- 
sions, enliven these waters. Fishing is one of the 
principal pursuits of the island population and 
fish of all kinds abound in the inland seas of 
Japan. There is a great demand for fish as food 
among the Japanese ; hence fishing is a remunera- 
tive occupation. 

The captain of our steamer said that this is the 
most trying part of the voyage from San Francisco 
to Hong Kong, for the narrow channels, the in- 
tricate windings of the course, the frequent fogs 
and the numerous vessels make these 400 miles 
very dangerous. The small craft plying in these 
waters take little heed, and any injury from a large 
steamer may entail lawsuits and heavy damages. 
Once we were startled by a prolonged scream of the 
steamer's whistle, a scurrying to and fro, a shout- 
ing of commands and angry warning; a fishing 
smack had put itself directly in our course, so that 
only a hurried reversing of the engines saved it 
from destruction. Our excellent pilot securely 
directed the course of the vessel on this and the 
following day, scarcely moderating the speed of 




JAPANESE AESCULAP TEMPLE, KIOTO 



SHIMONOSEKI 81 



the steamer. At 6 p. m. the sinking sun tipped the 
mountaintops of Shikoku to our left, and the west- 
ern clouds above them, with rosy hue, while our 
steamer majestically gHded over the placid, deep 
green water to a lighthouse and a village on a small 
island. Dusk soon began to settle over land and 
sea and we heard the anchor thunder to the bottom. 
Our pilot considered it safest to rest until the morn- 
ing sun should again light up the devious course. 

In the morning the vessel resumed its passage 
in a particularly narrow channel, where islands of 
all sizes were more numerous than ever. The sun 
gradually rose behind us over a high bank of dark 
clouds, as if fringed with molten gold. At first 
V. H. and I, who had bestirred ourselves from soft 
sleep thus early, took the whole mass of clouds for 
mountains, but part of it soon melted away and 
left a cragged wall of real mountains, seeming to 
bar the rearward world. Towns continued to crop 
up within sight and the islets assumed a more 
mountainous character. The barren declivities 
were made prolific by irrigation, wherever a spring 
or watercourse afforded the opportunity. Terrace 
after terrace was built to catch the dripping water 
in its descent, until it would reach some town or 
village or mingle with the lapping waves. 

At about four o'clock all passengers flocked on 
deck to see the narrows of Shimonoseki. Before 



82 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

US the greenish blue waters had bosomed out into 
a wide basin. The slanting rays of the sun shone 
on a row of red and white buoys, marking a mag- 
nificent curve around a promontory to the left. 
Around these our gallant steamer majestically swept, 
until it headed for the narrow gateway of Shimo- 
noseki between two towering mountains. Soon on 
either side the gaping mouths of huge canons on 
their embankments darkly frowned from right and 
left, and as our ship entered the narrows, both shores 
seemed threatening instantaneous destruction to 
her panting hull. No hostile vessel surely could 
pass these bristling forts; one volley would anni- 
hilate a numerous fleet. The two mountains that 
form as it were the gate posts of this passage, ap- 
proach almost within a stone's throw of each other. 
Beyond, the Japanese sea expands to the north. 
Half concealed behind the left promontory, the 
smoke of the manufacturing and mining town of 
Moji, built within the last ten years, opens up to 
view. As we steamed past the harbor of Moji, 
we remarked the large number of vessels, the great 
stores of coal and the warehouses along the docks. 
A railroad train snaked along the side of the moun- 
tain in the background and the smoke of mining and 
manufacturing plants dimmed the evening air. 
Nearby an ocean steamer was surrounded by hun- 
dreds of Japanese men, women and children, carry- 



COALING 83 



ing baskets of coal over her dark bulwarks. Ten 
years ago Moji was only a fishing hamlet, but mining 
has now developed it into a thriving city at the 
gateway of the Inland sea. 

Soon the open sea between the scattering islands 
lay before us in the fast settling gloom. To the 
right we still hugged the mainland of Honda for a 
while, until the steamer turned to the left in order 
to sail around the island of Kiushu to its great 
southern port of Nagasaki. Later on, when we 
had gained the open sea, mysterious fires loomed up 
in the western horizon, illuminating the hovering 
clouds. Concerning these fires a great deal of 
guesswork was indulged in by the passengers, some 
thinking it a volcano in action. But the captain 
thought that they were probably forest fires, raging 
on distant islands. 

As early as three a. m. the thunder of the drop- 
ping anchor awoke us. We had arrived at the 
harbor of Nagasaki and at seven the passengers 
were drummed up for quarantine inspection, but 
this did not take place until 8:30, in spite of our 
impatience at the oft repeated farce. When after- 
wards we moved into the narrowing harbor of 
Nagasaki, enclosed on three sides, the city pre- 
sented a beautiful view. It stretches along the 
foot of a mountain range, which circles around 
the three sides of the harbor. The Bronze Horse 



84 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

temple, halfway up the mountain to the left, the 
academy and churches on the mountain spur in the 
center and the fine villas and residences on Venus 
Hill to the right form salient points of the city 
panorama. The bund, at the water's edge, 
swarmed with busy people and the bay was alive 
with boats of all kinds. A large Italian warship 
was anchored among the numerous merchant ves- 
sels. As it was new year's day for the Chinese and 
Japanese, their junks and vessels were bedecked 
with myriads of many colored streamers and flags 
fluttering in the sunshine. When the Gaelic had 
come to a full stop, several clumsy coal barges 
were fastened to her sides. Miniature fleets of 
sampans filled with men, women and children, 
swarmed round to help in refilling the coal bunkers. 
Soon hundreds of baskets of coal passed from hand 
to hand over the high bulwarks of our steamer, and 
in a few hours many tons of coal were stored away 
in the hold. Those that had obtained employment 
earned the magnificent sum of 2o sen, or lo cents, 
but of course we must not get jealous; they had 
earned their good fortune, because they had arrived 
first, and had secured the job by having been more 
alert. 

Two of our party were bent on some separate 
errand, while M. and myself took in some of the 
sights of Nagasaki. Having first attended to mail 



MARY OF AGREDA 85 



matters at the post office, we spent nearly two 
hours in the narrow streets of the native quarters 
beyond the bund. Most of the native shops were 
closed to-day, on account of the new year festivity. 
For the Japanese it is the beginning of the year 
6539. According to the Roman Martyrology of the 
Catholic Church, this year, A.D. 1900, would be 
7100 since the creation of man, while the common 
acceptation is 5900 since the creation of man. Ven. 
Mary of Agreda,* in her revelations, reckons 5200 
years from the beginning of our race to the advent 
of Christ, which would make this year A.M. 7100. 
At Hondaya's, one of the principal curio shops of 
the town, we bought a few of the costly and artistic 
Japanese goods, but his prices were considerably 
higher than those of the shopkeepers of Yokohama. 
Swarms of people were passing along the quaint 
narrow streets toward different temples, especially 
to the great Bronze Horse temple on the hill. 

Thence we wandered up the ancient cemetery 
which covers many acres of ground from the city 
upward along the steep mountain side. It is 
parcelled off into terraces, surrounded by crumbling 
walls and full of mossgrown monuments covering 

*Such Is the reckoning given in the "Ciudad de Dios," Mary 
of Agreda's principal work. The main object of publishing "O'er 
Oceans" is to introduce Fiscar Marison and the first English transla- 
tion of "Ciudad" to the English-speaking public. The author is not 
alone in considering it one of the most remarkable books in any 
language and of all times. '^ 



86 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

the ashes of many generations. The monuments 
were mostly in the shape of urns, before many of 
which, vessels with water, paper flowers and glim- 
mering punk had been placed by friends of "the 
deceased. The bodies of the dead are cremated 
on open fires and their ashes gathered for preserva- 
tion in these urns. On the way up we met a woman 
with two ragged children, very Hkely pariahs, who 
plaintively asked for alms. How overjoyed she 
was at our trifling gift ! She was dragging behind 
her on a string a dead rat, for what purpose is hard 
to tell, but we understood her to say that it was 
intended for an offering to the gods in the temple. 
Well, I don't suppose their gods are very particular 
in regard to food! From a resting place near the 
top of the mountain spur, there was a beautiful 
view of Nagasaki and its mountain guarded harbor 
below. 

Descending, we mixed up with the nimble crowds 
of Japanese.who were streaming to the Bronze Horse 
temple. Soon we arrived at the base of a wide 
stairs leading up to the mountain. A succession of 
huge torii at the head of each stair-flight spanned 
the passage upward to the entrance of the temple 
grounds. Loudly the wooden sandals clattered 
on the stone flags, as the crowds of natives ascended 
and descended ; the torii or arches, the booths lining 
the way, the temple buildings above were all 




NEW YEAR, NAGASAKI HARBOR 



BRONZE HORSE TEMPLE 87 

gaudily decorated with flags and bunting. Some 
of the Japanese were carrying garlands of flowers, 
others a circular wreath made of wheat ears. There 
is not much difference between the garments of 
men and those of women ; the latter having sleeves 
a little longer and they wear a different headgear. 
The under garment is a long, gaudy shirt, the front 
seams of which widely overlap each other and reach 
below the calves. The bare limbs are often ex- 
posed, as the seams of this under garment flap 
apart. Over this they wear the kimono, a short 
sort of jacket with wide sleeves, held around their 
middle by a graceful girdle. 

We ascended the stairs with the stream of 
humanity. On the way up we had a regular Jap- 
anese meal in one of the booths. A few cents pro- 
cured us the services of a whole orchestra and the 
music was not bad. The temple grounds are 
guarded by two particularly monstrous images, 
half man, half dragon, painted white and red. Be- 
fore the entrance to the temple is the bronze statue 
of a horse, sitting upon its haunches, which gives 
the temple its name. From the open doors of the 
temple sounded loud tomtoms and a melancholy 
chant. Several natives were prostrate in front of 
the sanctuary-railing, clapping their hands and 
ringing a bell to attract the attention of the mon- 
sters, that grinned down upon them from within 



88 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

the railing. It was quite amusing to see the bonze 
crawl around in the sanctuary to pick up the coin 
which people from outside threw over the railing. 
Others of the worshipers dropped pennies into 
the cattleguard chests. Looking into one of the 
larger ones, I saw its bottom quite covered with 
coin. This temple is frequented by the adherents 
of the Shinto religion, a sort of sun worship of 
Persian origin, which is not looked upon with favor 
by the orthodox Buddhists. After stroUing through 
the adjoining gardens, which must have been a 
magnificent park once, and after paying a visit to 
the museum, we returned just in time to catch the 
steamer. 

It was a beautiful sight that the evening sun 
lit up as the steamer turned around and receded 
from the mountain-girt Nagasaki city and bay 
toward the expanding waters beyond. Three hun- 
dred years ago twenty-six martyrs, crucified on 
^the mountain of the Bronze Horse temple, looked 
down for three days from their crosses on this 
scene; civilization, however, has wrought many 
changes since. Immediately below the spot where 
they suffered, now stands the Catholic cathedral, 
which contains their relics. Many other martyrs 
shed their blood for Christ in this part of 
Japan, and not in vain, at least for this neigh- 
borhood: for many Catholic Japanese reside in 




MARTYRS MEMORIAL CHURCH, NAGASAKI 



PRACTICAL HINTS 89 

the surrounding countr}^ and on the islands here- 
about. Several churches gleam white from the 
hillsides of Nagasaki Bay and the islands around. 
With the parting rays of the setting sun, we bade 
farewell to romantic Nippon, the island empire 
of the Mikado. 

Practical Hints. — ^Persons traveling in the Orient 
should not fail to visit Japan and allot a good share 
of the time at their disposal to that wonderful 
country. Where time and means need not be 
stinted, no doubt a trip from the northernmost 
island of Yezzo to the southernmost Formosa would 
prove interesting all the way through. Railroads 
span most of the distance, though the intervening 
stretches of sea would have tc be crossed in native 
junks, in which no special conveniences can be 
looked for. This trip would especially recommend 
itself to those who are going to Manila. But a few 
days spent in the neighborhood of the main cities, 
as we had done, will suffice to give a very fair idea 
of the people and country. Central Japan is so 
well governed, that no one need fear mixing with 
the inhabitants and taking lodging with them. 
The decimal system is introduced for money values ; 
the lowest coin is a sen ; one hundred sens make one 
yen, worth 50 cents. The yen looks much like 
our silver dollar. The sea voyage from Kobe 



90 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

through the island sea and Shimonoseki strait, is 
unique and should not be lightly missed. The 
natives, especially those that have not come much 
in contact with white men, are honest and one 
need not be on one's guard so much in his pur- 
chases as in the rest of the Orient. In regard to 
buying curios and remembrances on an extended 
trip it is well to remember, that the carrying of the 
articles and the duty to be paid on them should be 
taken more into consideration than the original 
cost. Yet it would not do to leave important 
places without some kind of memento. One 
should always, however, prefer a memento that 
can be used in daily life to a mere curio. Pictures 
and photographs of remarkable places will be a 
never failing source of pleasing recollections in 
after years. A most valuable adjunct of the 
traveler's outfit is a camera; but let him be sure 
to get a small pocket kodak: larger ones will soon 
become unbearably irksome and the consequence 
will be, that few pictures will be taken. It is good 
to be provided with an abundant stock of films, 
as it may be impossible to get the right kind along 
the road. 



CHAPTER IV. 

In the Yellow Sea. — Waiting for the Tide. — ^A 
City of Four Nations. — ^A Night on the 
Streets of Shanghai. — ^Again on the Ocean. 
— ^HoNG Kong. — ^The Parting of our Ways. — 
A Flying Trip to Canton. — ^Under Portu- 
guese Flag. — On Victoria Heights. — All 
Aboard for Manila. 

We were now under full headway crossing 
the lower part of the Yellow Sea bounded by the 
coasts of Japan, Corea and Central China. It 
certainly merits its name, for the great rivers 
Yangtse and Hoangho empty their vast yellow 
floods into this sea. The Yangtse river, to the 
mouth of which we were steaming, carries vast 
quantities of clayey soil 150 miles out into the 
ocean and forms immense sand bars in the bay of 
Shanghai. We had to anchor about forty miles 
out from Shanghai in order to wait until the fog 
should disappear at high tide. This conjunction 
of high tide and clear weather detained the 
Gaehc for nearly two days. In the forenoon of 
February 4th the steamer could proceed up the 
mouth of the Yangtse to Woosong, about fourteen 
miles from Shanghai roper. 

91 



92 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

At noon the tug came alongside the vessel in 
order to take the goods and the passengers up the 
river to Shanghai. One can easily imagine that 
we were impatient at the tedious delay, especially 
as the tug tarried until three o'clock. But once 
aboard, its twin screws pushed it rapidly up against 
the mighty currents of the river. Rough looking 
Chinese junks with fierce eyes painted on their prows 
passed us here and there. The painted eyes are 
missing on no Chinese boat, for the superstitious 
sailors believe that they scare off the evil spirits of 
the deep and besides, how can a boat find its way 
without eyes of some kind? The crazy sails of 
these junks are made of a bewildering patchwork 
of rags, sewed together and fastened to great frames 
of bamboo. On the sides of even the larger junks, 
are fastened stationary flaps, resting on the water 
like the wings of seals and preventing the craft from 
upsetting in rough weather. The Chinese men and 
women that manage these boats, and those that 
had helped unload the goods from the Gaelic, 
formed a collection of ragged humanity, seldom to 
be met with anywhere. Having passed a number 
of Chinese men-of-war, Shanghai came into view 
in the distance. 

Even after we had gone up stream fourteen miles 
to Shanghai, the river banks were yet two miles 
apart. The harbor of Shanghai is always full of 




OPIUM HULK, SHANGHAI 



OPIUM WAR 93 



shipping, for it yields preeminence only to Liver- 
pool and New York in the number of vessels an- 
nually entering and leaving port. The most con- 
spicuous of the vessels in the harbor was the opium 
hulk, occupying its stationary position at the edge 
of the water in full view of the grand palaces of the 
English, French and American concessions. It 
serves as a sort of custom house for the control of 
the opium trade of China. Like a huge grey mon- 
ster it stands a witness to the rapacity of the Eng- 
lish, who in 1842 waged a fierce war with China in 
order to force the Chinese government to withdraw 
its prohibition against the importation of opium into 
the empire. India was at that time, and is at 
present, the principal producer of opium: if China 
should remain closed to the deadly drug, it would 
have meant the ruin of the English opium industry. 
The physical and moral welfare of the Mongol race 
and all their natural rights must of course yield to 
the material welfare of their European merchant 
brothers: the "white man's burden" must first of 
all be a paying burden, or else it would become 
unbearable, don't you know! 

The English, French and the Americans have 
concessions, that is, their own autonomous terri- 
tories outside the old Shanghai walls, so that 
Shanghai consists really of four different cities: 
the old Shanghai or Chinese city; next to it, out- 



94 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

side the walls, the French, then the English and 
American concessions. These concessions com- 
prise only a small territory and they are built tip 
and governed like a European or American city. 
A beautiful boulevard circles along the waterfront, 
skirting the fine palaces and business houses of 
the concessions. Were it not for the numerous 
Chinamen and the stately, tall Sikh guardsmen 
on the streets, one would think that he is arriving 
at some European port. 

On disembarking, we passed along the fine boule- 
vard from the English to the French concessions, 
looking for the Jesuit college. But we arrived 
instead at the procure of the "Missions Etrang^res" 
and were well received by Father Beaublat. As 
we had little time, he at once offered to accompany 
us through the old Chinese quarters, an offer which 
we gladly accepted. Accordingly, without taking 
off his cassock, he led the way through a few blocks 
to the old city wall, that still surrounds the Chinese 
town of Shanghai and divides the French concession 
from it. This wall is now crumbling with age and 
neglect. The filthy moat is spanned by a dilapi- 
dated bridge and over the ruinous gate frown two 
rusty cannon mouths through the portholes. In- 
side of the walls, the narrow streets received us: 
they are only six or eight feet wide and hardly 
merit the name of streets, being mere passages 



RAGGED MISERY 



running irregularly between a maze of old shanties 
and shops, roughly paved with cobble-stones and 
indescribably filthy and dirty. Chinese men and 
women of all ages and conditions thronged to and 
fro. 

The abject misery of some of the beggars was a 
distressing spectacle. One of them was a leper 
sitting in the sloppy dirt of the gutter, moaning 
and swaying his head. Instead of eyeballs were 
mere holes, from which ran the festering pus down 
the haggard cheeks; instead of the nose protruded 
the naked bones: leprosy had eaten away the sur- 
rounding flesh. Pitifully he groaned at the passer- 
by, Hfting up the sightless face and holding up an 
old tin can for alms. At another corner, a man 
paralyzed from the hips downward, trailed the 
bare, helpless limbs along through the mud over 
the cobblestones, dragging himself forward by the 
help of his right arm and the upper part of his body, 
while with the left hand he rattled a tin cup to 
supplement his piteous groans for alms. Ragged 
w^omen and children littered the streets or any 
available nooks, loudly clamoring for help. They 
received no notice from the scurrying crowd: 
heathenism knows little of pity toward the poor 
and helpless. 

None of these beggars are allowed in any of the 
concessions and no doubt the Chinese government 



96 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

would resent any interference of the white man in 
the internal affairs of the old town. We could not 
resist giving Chinese coins to some of the beggars; 
but soon we were followed by a surging crowd of 
poor, that frantically surrounded us. Father 
Beaublat, after somewhat unceremoniously dis- 
persing the clamoring mob, probably knowing 
circumstances better, protested against any more 
such experiments, as we would expose ourselves to 
serious inconveniences and were wasting money 
only on the undeserving and not on the real poor. 
This last was indeed hard to believe! 

No wagons, not even a rickshaw, can pass 
through these narrow and crowded streets. We 
met, however, one or two gorgeous palanquins, 
within which the richly clad mandarins were being 
carried along by four liveried servants. They 
pushed ruthlessly through the crowds and the 
common herd crushed themselves into corners as 
they passed. Both sides of the straightened pas- 
sages were lined with low huts, crumbling walls, 
opium dens, eating houses, trinket shops, ill- 
smelling kitchens, open bazaars, joss houses, 
cobblers' booths, and shops of all trades, which 
generally are open to view. The nauseating vic- 
tuals are cooked on open fires, sending up odors of 
roasting and broiling meats. All was life and ani- 
mation, for the Chinese are no laggards at any of 



HEATHEN CELEBRATION 97 

their callings, and least of all in business, be the 
profits ever so small. Some were bartering at the 
open booths, some were eating the indescribable 
deHcacies with nimble chopsticks ; shopkeepers prais- 
ing their wares, tradespeople with rude implements 
at their work, the hastening crowds, the whining 
beggars, all united to form a Babel of confusion. 
We came to an old canal or arm of the river, 
widening out into a brackish pool. The sewage 
from the streets finds its way into it. Yet the 
father told us that the Chinese use this water for 
cooking and drinking purposes, as there are no 
other pubHc provisions for water supply. The 
streets were filled with the smell of opium, burn- 
ing joss-sticks and the reeking garbage of the 
streets. Everywhere also sounded the noise of 
kettledrums, cymbals, tomtoms, loud talk and 
laughter from the rear of houses and shops, for 
they were still celebrating the new year and the 
twenty-fifth anniversary of the accession of Quan- 
hu to the throne, and would continue to celebrate 
for a week or two. The louder the din of the cele- 
bration, so much the more will the malicious 
spirits be propitiated in the coming year. As for 
dates in China, there are no reliable ones beyond 
the fifth century before Christ. So at least the 
well informed Jesuits, whom we afterwards had 
the pleasure of meeting, informed us. 



98 O^ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

After many turns in the narrow passages, we 
entered a large complex of open courtyards, low- 
roofed galleries around a dark temple building. 
It contained a whole army of grinning idols, ranged 
along the walls. The object of the temple was to 
provide a special idol for each day and hour of 
the year, in which any of their devotees should hap- 
pen to be born. During these days of the new 
year celebrations, each Chinaman is supposed to 
make an offering to that particular god, which pre- 
sides over the hour of his birth, if he would not 
suffer for his neglect in the ensuing year. And 
nearly every one of them had found some devotee 
in that surging crowd. Surly bonzes, jugglers in 
the open courts, venders of candles, fiitter-paper 
and trinkets, mingled in the jostling mass of human- 
ity and plied their trades. They surrounded even 
us and Father Beaublat, asking our age, eager to 
show us the particular god we ought to propitiate, 
but still more eager to get some tips or to sell us 
some of their articles of sacrifice. The hideous 
array of gods were having a high time of it, to be 
sure: for the burning candles, the glimmering punk 
and sandalwood and the gold and silver glitter 
around and before them, showed that without our 
help they were sufficiently attended to, and besides 
we thought that the grinning idols, which they 
pointed out to us as our guardian deities, would 



JESUIT SEMINARY 99 

very likely continue to grin their favors upon us 
whether we made an offering or not. 

We regretted very much that the father was in 
such haste, as we should have liked very much to 
spend more time in taking in the strange sights 
around us. But they were familiar enough to him 
and only disgusted him ; whereas our curiosity easily 
overcame any feeling of disgust in us. So, on we has- 
tened through more narrow and crowded streets to 
the Jesuit establishment in the midst of Chinese 
heathendom. They have a fine church here and 
conduct several schools, one of them a sort of semi- 
nary for native priests and catechists. We were 
introduced to a company of about thirty Chinese 
catechists. They receive careful training for three 
years in this place and make an annual vow or 
promise to assist in missionary labors among their 
countrymen under supervision of the priests to 
which they are sent. What a contrast: the jostHng 
heathens outside and this band of young natives 
with the fire of enthusiasm in their eyes, ready to 
preach Christ! If an ocular proof of the benign 
effects of Christ's truth were desired, a glance at 
this band of catechists would be sufficient. Some 
of them afterwards are ordained priests. There 
are a few Chinese Jesuit priests in Shanghai and 
one of them was introduced to us there. Without 
native help of catechists little can be done in 
heathen countries. 



100 O^ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

The father, on account of pressing engagements, 
now desired to turn homeward. He said that the 
gates of the Chinese Shanghai are closed at a cer- 
tain hour and would be open for no one either to 
go out or in, which, for my part, I contemplated as 
a situation not altogether undesirable. Before 
passing out of the gate where we had entered, we 
had a view from the top of its turret: the old wall 
straggles around Chinese Shanghai in irregular 
curves. It is wide enough to afford a passage for 
a wagon all around the city. 

Father Beaublat accompanied us to the Jesuit 
church in the French concession, where Father 
LeGall received us very kindly. I had expected to 
meet Rev. Wm. Hornsby, S. J,, a former fellow- 
student of mine. He had, however, been trans- 
ferred to the Jesuit college at Macao. In the church 
are separate divisions for the European and the 
Chinese Catholics. After a visit to some acquaint- 
ances of V. H. in the Belgian procure of the Ameri- 
can concession, we engaged rooms in the Hotel des 
Colonies. There we had excellent accommodations 
for only two dollars Mexican or one dollar American 
money. 

After dinner we wanted to see the Chinese quar- 
ters in the different concessions. Only the few 
streets along the boulevard and quay are inhabited 
by the white people, behind them are large settle- 




SHANGHAI FISHERMAN 



NIGHT IN SHANGHAI 101 

ments of Chinese, though the territory belongs to 
and is governed by the commissioners of the three 
nations. Order and cleanliness is strictly main- 
tained by an especially selected poHce force. The 
tall and stately Sikhs, imported from the Punjab, 
India, with swarthy features and long black hair 
and beard, do most of the police duty. Again we 
heard the din of tomtoms, drums and cymbals from 
the interior of houses in dark streets and from the 
open stores. In between, firearms and firecrackers 
exploded, much Hke at our own Fourth of July cele- 
brations. For two weeks the evil spirits are thus 
belabored with ear-splitting noise in order to make 
them propitious. I am incHned to believe, that if 
the Chinese demons have any ear for music, they 
will capitulate in much less time. 

Inside of a large dry goods store, where we 
bought some silk handkerchiefs for a trifle, a group 
of Chinese sat on low stools with all the necessary 
instruments of noise, merrily thumping away at 
the drums, triangles, cymbals and sounding boards. 
They had done good business in the past year and 
therefore, so much the more, must the fickle gods be 
kept in good humor. They charged a large dis- 
count for our American gold and before handing out 
the change in Mexican silver dollars, they carefully 
marked them with a rubber stamp. It seems this 
is necessary to make them passable. The Chinese 



102 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

really have no coin of their own, the currency in the 
interior being lumps of silver, the value of which is 
reckoned by weight in taels or pounds. For small 
purchases they use roughly stamped pieces of brass, 
perforated by square holes in the middle. Several 
times I bought rolls of seventy or eighty of these 
coins for five cents to give to the numerous beggars 
and to children. I staked a few also at the fakir 
stands, where crowds of Chinese stood around, 
gambling for one or two of the brass coins at a time. 
But my fakir got the best of me: no matter how the 
dice would turn up, he claimed to be winner, while 
my fortune was diminished in this transaction by at 
least 3 J cents. At nine o'clock is the closing hour 
for all street fakirs and the hour is enforced by the 
police. There was no intoxicating drink to be had 
among the Chinese, on account of its prohibition by 
city ordinance. 

I could not understand why V. H. and B. desired 
to return to the hotel so early. Mr. M. and myself 
preferred to see as much as possible of the strange 
sights during the short time at our disposal. Re- 
gardless of consequences or of the dangers, that 
the others were conjuring up in their minds for 
themselves and us, we started out to roam through 
several miles of streets. 

Not far off we saw a great crowd gathering in one 
of the streets. From the centre of it loud shouting 



A RESCUE 103 



and howling was heard. Curious to see what was 
the matter, we elbowed our way to right and left 
through the excited Chinese and at once became 
the principal actors of a little tragic comedy. 
In the flickering light of some torches stood a tall 
Sikh policeman. His large black eyes flashed 
angrily down upon a howling young Chinese, as he 
listened to the wrathful expostulations of another 
Chinaman accusing the youngster. The Sikh 
had the long queue of the delinquent wound several 
times around his left forearm and was giving it 
a vicious jerk at each new accusation. In the 
right hand he had a large billet of wood. Both 
the Sikh and his victim immediately appealed to 
us. They must have taken me for some high 
official, perhaps on account of our unceremonious 
intrusion or the Roman collar. The Sikh in broken 
English tried to tell me, that the youngster had 
thrown the billet of wood at the wrathful accuser 
and therefore must be arrested. The sturdy 
youngster, howling between the jerks of his queue 
with which the Sikh emphasized his accusations, 
in deadly fright held up to me a handful of cashes 
as a bribe for my assistance. The affair was 
ridiculous in the extreme: the savage Sikh, the 
frightened youngster with the magnificent bribe 
of about two cents in value, his frantic accuser 
behind both and the surging crowd of Chinamen, 



104 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

whose eager faces were lighted up by the neighbor- 
ing torch-Hght ; all were waiting for the decision of 
a complete stranger. Of course I rose to the height 
of the situation in the twinkling of an eye. It was 
a glorious chance to play the judge once in my 
life. The accuser had not deigned to make any 
such magnificent offer as the accused. It would 
be well to teach him a lesson. Besides he seemed 
violent enough to have provoked the prank of the 
youngster. As for the Sikh, he would have to 
accept the decision of the mighty white man, that 
had honored his bailiwick with a visit. "Stet pro 
ratione voluntas." If the power of the white man 
was to be shown, I must decide against the Sikh, 
the accuser and the whole gathering of heathen 
bystanders. I must let that gaping crowd of pig- 
tails know, that even if the young stripling had 
deserved death, he shall be free at the wave of my 
hand. So accusing his opponent of having prob- 
ably provoked the offense and unwinding the queue 
of the whining criminal from the arm of the Sikh, 
I set him free. Like a snake released in high 
grass, the sturdy youngster suddenly dived be- 
tween the legs of the bystanders and disappeared 
in the darkness. He preferred, no doubt, the 
aimless kicks of the crowd, through which he 
squeezed his way, to the dreaded arrest and the 
process of the law. After getting out of the dis- 



CHINESE BOWLERS 105 

per sing crowds, when the dignity of supreme 
arbiter was no longer necessary, M. and myself 
did full justice to the humor of the situation in our 
hilarious glosses and comments on the adventure. 

It was a sad thing to notice how public vice 
plumed its gayest feathers even in the concessions 
in order to enticet he unwary. We passed nu- 
merous places, brilliantly Hghted, where bevies of 
Chinese girls, painted and in airy costumes (much 
more so than in the vaudeville theaters and variety 
shows of our own cities) , stood in the hall- ways, as 
disgusting allurements. 

We came to a place from which proceeded much 
noise of merrymaking. We entered and found 
groups of Chinamen sitting galore at all sorts of 
games. One part of the establishment was por- 
tioned off as a bowling alley. A few Chinese were 
whooping and screeching with their thin voices, 
whenever to their wonder the tiny ball stayed on 
the alley long enough to knock over a pin or two at 
the other end. Their surprise was justified: the 
alley was so long, that its farther end almost disap- 
peared in the distance; the balls were practical 
solutions of the squared circle, only the square had 
by far the best of it, and the listless muscles of the 
Chinese gave but indifferent force to the tumbling 
ball. 

We joined in their game and I challenged the one 



106 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

who seemed their champion, by signs, that I 
would play against him, the loser to pay the costs. 
He readily consented, thinking, no doubt, that he 
would easily beat the "foreign devil. ' ' But he soon 
began to wear a long face, when, at the close, our 
score had outgrown his own three or fourfold. 

Later on we witnessed the closing scene in a 
Chinese play in one of the theaters. The play is 
almost all pantomime, except that a herald now 
and then drawls out a sort of a singsong explana- 
tion of what must have been unintelligible in the 
tableaux even to the Chinese, The actors ap- 
peared in fantastic apparel, grotesquely painted 
and masked, with all sorts of spears, clubs and 
other instruments. But there was an absence of 
nude indecency, so common in the white man's 
theaters. The audience hall was filled with specta- 
tors sipping their tea during the play and uttering 
a timid "ha ha" in approval, when particularly 
pleased at the maneuvers on the stage. They do 
not clap their hands. We attended to that. We 
cheered too. Perhaps they thought we were 
amateur players that had forgotten their paint. 

Once, after the actor on the stage had reached a 
climax of a demoniacal howling and screeching, 
accompanied by a fiendish fortissimo of grimaces 
and an earsplitting din of strident instruments, we 
were found bravely helping out the best of their 



IN A THEATRE 107 



actors by clapping our hands and shouting: "Hur- 
rah, three cheers for the red, white and blue" at 
the top of our voices. Our brave hurrahs at first 
were lost in the "universal shout that tore the 
welkin" above the stage, but the band of fiends 
on the stage suddenly stopped and our solitary 
cheers alone resounded as a finale through the hall. 

Even the fantastic noise makers on the stage 
turned their glaring masks upon us, like a pack of 
native demons surprised at the presence of some 
"foreign devils." As we occupied a place right in 
front of the high stage, we attracted an amount of 
attention, such as we could not hope to attract 
very soon thereafter. 

It was getting to be near twelve o'clock and 
the life of the streets was beginning to subside. 
We had carefully kept track of our wanderings 
or we would surely not have found our way back 
to the hotel. Even so we had to grope our way 
through some entirely dark and lonely passages, 
for no friendly light shines through any windows 
in the Chinese quarters, simply because there are 
no windows facing on the streets. Like on a Fourth 
of July night in our country, now and then the soli- 
tary detonation of a blunderbuss or a large fire- 
cracker or the monotonous kettledrum sounded 
from the mysterious darkness within the dwell- 
ings. I found V. H. buried in one of the beds of 



108 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

the room, but kept anxiously awake by our pro- 
longed absence. 

The next day was the fifth Sunday of our jour- 
ney. After having celebrated mass in the French 
procure and taken a breakfast brought up by the 
hotel servant to our room, we set out with Father 
Stan. Kennelly, S. J., toward the landing place. 
The Jesuit was dressed in the costume, and wore 
the slim beard and dangling pigtail, of a mandarin. 
According to his opinion (and he could well have 
reliable judgment in such matters, having spent 
twenty years in the interior) the Chinese are a 
peaceful and docile people, much more so than the 
Japanese. "War is foolish: why have the gods 
given us speech, if not in order to settle our dif- 
ferences, ' ' is their common saying. My experiences 
were entirely in harmony with this sentiment. 
They certainly never showed any quarrelsomeness 
in their dealings with us, though on several occa- 
sions we assumed rights which would have been 
sufficiently dear to people of other nations to pick 
a quarrel for. The Boxer trouble in Pekin was 
brewing and broke out two months after our 
visit to Shanghai. But from an impartial Chinese 
standpoint, I cannot see anything unnatural in 
those troubles: they are the logical consequence of 
the behavior of the white man in China. 

This might seem a hard saying to those who are 



A COMPARISON 109 



SO much in favor of taking up the "white man's 
burden." Let a fair minded man imagine himself 
in the position of the Chinese. Theirs is a vast 
empire. The United States for instance contains 
3,622,088 square miles: China contains 4,268,800. 
The Union claims 80,000,000 inhabitants, China, 
383,000,000. Our history dates back 133 years, 
the known history of China, according to positive 
records, nearly twenty times that number of years, 
namely 2,500 years, and the Chinese have been a 
great nation 1000 years before that, at least it would 
be hard to prove the contrary. Vast deeds of war 
mark its bygone centuries, great emperors, states- 
men and warriors shine on its historic pages. They 
were far advanced in the arts of peace and war 
long before any European nations had issued from 
their barbaric state. If we are justified in feeling 
proud of our country, why not they, with their 
history and with the vastness of their empire? 
What wonder if a million or two of these Chinese 
should rise to drive out the foreign invaders, whose 
presence is menacing the very existing of their 
empire ? 

The same swift tug that had taken us up the 
river, now brought us back to the Gaelic, the huge 
hulk of which we soon saw riding on the yellow tide. 
The steamer during that and the next day held its 
course over the turbulent waves of the Formosa 



no O'ER OCEANS AND CO NTINENTS 

channel. Some of the crazy looking Chinese junks 
are met far out on the sea and it is a wonder that 
they are not swallowed up by the huge billov/s or 
blown to pieces in the gale. One should think that 
the next puff of wind would catch the unwieldy, 
bamboo-ribbed sail of patched rags and stave the 
helpless boat into the maw of the next approaching 
wave. At a short distance off they become invisi- 
ble behind the crest of the waves as they sink into 
the trough of the sea. 

On the second day after leaving Shanghai, at 
five p. M., the Gaelic was picking its way through 
the many islands up the Wyfong straits, from 
whence Admiral Dewey swooped down on the 
Manila harbor in May, 1899. Pretty soon Hong 
Kong appeared behind the numerous shipping of 
its beautiful harbor. There were twelve British 
and five American warships in the bay, besides the 
vessels representing numerous other nations. 
Among the American ships of war was also the 
Brooklyn, the former flagship of Schley. Captain 
Thomas, with whom I had passed many a pleasant 
hour in the smoker, was to assume command of 
that vessel at his arrival. This is the western 
terminus of the O & O. Steamship line, and our 
coupons gave us passage board the P. & O. steamers 
to Brindisi, by way of Singapore, Colombo, Calcutta, 
Bombay and Suez canal. 




FATHER KENELLY, S. J., CHINESE MISSIONARY, SHANGHAI 



HONG KONG 111 



Slowly the Gaelic entered the harbor and 
dropped her anchor at nightfall about a mile from 
shore. As darkness crept over the bay and over the 
surrounding mountains, the brilliant electric lights 
began to loom up, forming a complete circle a few 
miles in diameter around the ship, for it seems the 
whole bay is surrounded by thriving manufacturing 
settlements on the encircling Chinese coasts and 
islands. Hong Kong itself is built on the steep 
side of Mount Victoria. Clusters of lights began to 
blazon from the business quarters of Hong Kong 
at the water's edge, and gradually all the way 
up to the summit, 4,000 feet above the sea level. 
Coming out on deck after supper, from the bright 
dining room, I was wondering for quite a while at 
the unusual position of what seemed the constellation 
of Orion in the heavens, until the dark outlines of 
Mount Victoria, appearing immediately above the 
three brilliant lights, dispelled the illusion and 
made me aware that I was not looking at that 
constellation, but at the electric lights near the 
towering summit of the mountain. 

Differences of opinion arose as to the route which 
we were to pursue on leaving Hong Kong. The 
four of us had made up our minds to go to Manila 
and get a glimpse of this new acquisition of the 
United States. It was my opinion that we should, 
if possible, first go to Canton, then return to Hong 



112 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

Kong and go to Manila, and from there take direct 
shipment to Singapore. In that way we would 
have time to see Canton before going, we would 
have over a week more time in Manila and we 
would save the return trip on the ocean from 
Manila back to Hong Kong. I could not con- 
vince the rest of the party of the advantage of this 
change in the route of our round trip tickets. 
They insisted on following it without deviation. 

Early in the morning we hired a sampan and 
together we left the Gaelic, which had been such 
a pleasant home, to me at least, for the last five 
weeks. It is certain that on no other of the 23 
steamships, which I used on this journey so much 
homelike comfort and attendance could be found. 
We betook ourselves to the old cathedral in Hong 
Kong, where the Italian fathers received us kindly 
and readily consented to our saying Mass. The 
church is high up on the mountainside, overlooking 
the greater part of Hong Kong and its harbor. It 
is built in renaissance style and is in many respects 
a fine structure. It seems to antedate the Eng- 
lish dominion on the island of Hong Kong by many 
years. 

As my companions would not listen to my sug- 
gestions in regard to a change of route, I finally 
determined to separate and make my way alone. 
But at the last moment, just as we had finished 



DIFFERENCES 113 



our dinner in one of the restaurants, M. changed 
his mind. The others of the party had concerned 
themselves very Httle about him during the pre- 
ceding part of the voyage; I had grown used to 
him as cabin-mate and had gladly put up with his 
hard hearing. But there were several reasons for 
my not urging him very strongly to come with me. 
He had begun the journey with the others of the 
party. There was a certain amount of risk that 
I would not make Calcutta just as soon as the 
others. There would be at least a small extra 
outlay in fares. So after asking him once in the 
course of the morning and receiving no assent from 
him, I had made up my mind to go alone. But 
after V. H. and B had definitely decided on fol- 
lowing the route of their round-trip tickets, he 
cast his lot with me of his own free choice, and I 
was not unwiUing to act as his guide and com- 
panion to Vienna. Later results soon showed that 
we had taken by far the most advantageous and 
the most expeditious route. We bade the rest of 
our party farewell and procured our tickets for the 
Manila steamer, "Esmeralda," which was to leave 
on Friday, while they would have to depart for Ma- 
nila the next day. 

M. and myself determined to obtain a gHmpse 
of the Chinese city of Canton and of the Portu- 
guese town of Macao. The Fat Shan was to start 



114 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

Up the Pearl River in a few hours, so we procured 
tickets for Canton on that steamer, and, until its 
departure, strolled through the streets of Hong 
Kong, at the same time attending to such business 
as was necessary. The European portion of Hong 
Kong, which is of course divided from the Chinese 
quarters, differs little from a modern city with fine 
streets, great business houses and residences, parks 
and driveways. The residences of the Europeans 
straggle up the side of Mount Victoria, whereas the 
Chinese quarter, by far the more populous, stretches 
away to the right along the wharfs and quays of the 
bay. There are hardly any carriages to be seen, 
the passenger traffic being carried on by the rick- 
shaws. These latter are larger and clumsier than 
the Japanese jinrikishas. We almost missed the 
Fat Shan, which was ready to start out from its 
wharf in the Chinese quarters. Being desirous to 
see something of the native Chinese passengers, 
we took our chances with them for that night's 
trip in second class passage. 

Hong Kong was gradually lost to view as the 
great river boat picked its way between the islands 
towards the mouth of the Takiang or Pearl River^ 
The hills and mountains one by one gave way to 
the low banks of the river and the scenery became 
uninteresting. As it was getting dusk and quite 
chilly above, we went belov/ where one-half of the 



ON THE FAT SHAN 115 

boat was portioned off for second class. There 
were no berths, but the Chinese were sitting and 
lying in groups all over the spacious floor. Travelers 
in the Orient always carry a supply of blankets and 
mats, so that they can make themselves comfort- 
able on any conveyances where there is room. 
On this boat there were a number of groups, who 
kept up their laughing and chatting until twelve 
o'clock, playing cards or dominoes and smoking 
opium the meanwhile. Men, women and children 
lay indiscriminately around on the floor, seemingly 
comfortable in spite of the hardness of the couch. 
Some of them had brought their Chinese pillows 
along. They are nothing else than a short billet 
of wood shaped like a railroad rail, only a little 
higher. This the Chinese do not place under their 
heads, but under their necks, as they lie on their 
backs, so that the head dangles over it without any 
support: seems more like an instrument of torture 
than an article of comfort. 

A Parsee merchant, engaged in the commission 
business, kept us awake a few hours, talking in 
broken English of Canton and the silk business. 
He knew a great deal of the Christian religion and 
seemed to think that it was nothing else than an 
offspring of the Zoroastrian doctrines. If what 
he said is true, the Parsees, who are the followers 
of Zoroaster, do not adore the sun or fire, but they 



116 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

only honor it as the most appropriate symbol of 
the Almighty. He would not smoke and said, it is 
a desecration of the fire which is holy. He wore 
the peculiar Parsee cap, something like the head- 
dress of the Jewish highpriests. I understood 
that this sort of headgear is worn by the Parsees 
on account of a promise, which they had made to 
a king in the north of India at the time of their 
forced emigration from Persia. The wearing of 
this sort of a cap was made the condition under 
which they should be allowed to settle in that part 
of India. 

We stretched ourselves on the hard benches and 
took what sleep we could during the chilly hours of 
the night. When the morning dawned, I thought 
at first the boat had struck a sand bar, for it lay 
motionless in the morning-fog between the low 
banks of the river. However the cause of the delay 
turned out to be something quite different. Al- 
though this boat makes a few trips a week to Can- 
ton, yet it cannot enter within its limits without a 
special permit every time. The Chinese officials 
kept us waiting for nearly an hour and a half. Then 
the steamer slowly resumed its way for several 
miles up the river, until it arrived in the very midst 
of a wilderness of boats and sampans. 

As soon as the owners of the sampans noticed 
strangers on board, they crowded around with 




EMBARKING, ORIENT 



HOUSE BOATS 117 



their boats to offer their services for a ride along 
the river. We hired one that was occupied by a 
whole family as oarsmen. The sampan is made of 
rough unpainted boards, tapering out at the prow, 
but square at the stern with two flaps on each side. 
Ours was about eighteen feet long and in its middle 
a mat was stretched over a half-round framework, 
like the covering of our prairie schooners, giving 
shelter against the sun's rays. The fore part and 
the stern were decked over and formed sleeping 
apartments, about i8 inches high, for the family of 
the boat owners. By the time they die, they must, 
no doubt, be well used to the narrow quarters of a 
cofhn, for they spend their whole lives on these 
boats. Among the 500,000 Cantonese that live 
in these small houseboats, there are tens of thou- 
sands of women, who probably never set their foot 
on terra firma. The bosom of the broad river and 
both banks are crowded with these boats, forming 
three or four impenetrable rows on each side. As 
soon as we had taken our places an old woman, who 
must have been at least eighty years old, seized the^ 
paddle in the rear and standing on the rude planks, 
began to scull up stream to the right bank of the 
river. Some of the small children helped along 
at the side with other paddles, while the man at the 
bows kept the sampan clear from the numerous 
boats that swarmed up and down the river. As our 



118 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

time was limited, we had hired a guide by the name 
of Wong a Yew, who ordered the boatman to bring 
us to the most remarkable temple in Canton— the 
temple of Honan. 

Crowding in toward the shore between the hun- 
dreds of moored boats, we arrived at the foot of the 
stairs leading upward under the great torii of the 
temple ground. Here thousands of years of 
paganism had covered the spacious enclosure with 
rambling groups of dark temples, large and small, 
shrines, priests' houses, gardens, crematories, many 
acres in extent. At the entrance stand in huge 
grotesqueness the figures of the guardian gods of 
the four winds. The grimaces on them are terrific 
and the mustaches will outsweep that of any mimic 
Napoleon or Polish nobleman. Passing on be- 
neath magnificent camphor and banyan trees, we 
peered into the dark halls of the main temple of the 
three Buddhas, where their towering gilded figures 
are surrounded by sixteen minor gods. 

As regards artistic design and carving, they fall 
short of the Japanese temples, but in regard to 
grotesqueness, the Chinese statues and temples no 
doubt outdo anything on the face of the earth. 
On we passed through intricate passages, between 
the bonzes' houses, under many vaulted doors to 
the great Indian goddess. This had been brought 
as a trophy to this place a thousand years ago and 



HON AN TEMPLE 119 

placed on its high pedestal in the midst of a col- 
lection of male gods. Ghastly it stared down from 
a height of 40 feet, in barbaric splendor under the 
vaults of the high, windowless building. It was 
just now being repaired and regilded. Behind 
these groups of temples were* spacious gardens, with 
rows of shrubs and trees, skillfully trimmed to 
represent different kinds of animals and men. The 
ponds were overgrown with the lotus Hly, and, 
circling around in the background, stood the 
crematories and the monuments containing the 
ashes of distinguished dead. The bodies of the 
poorer Chinese are doubled up and pressed into 
boxes in order to be cremated, this being appar- 
ently the occupation of some of the bonzes living 
on the temple grounds. 

At this early hour, for it was not yet eight, we 
met few people during our ramble. In the foggy 
morning the whole caused an impression of hideous 
decay and listlessness and at the same time we 
wondered how the minds of men can be enthralled 
by such a distortion of religion and worship for any 
length of time. It seems to me a most evident proof 
of the necessity of religion for the human being; 
else certainly these people would rather do without 
religion than cling so tenaciously to such ghastly 
and monstrous aberrations of the mind. The guide 
told us, that in later hours of the day these grounds 



120 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

swarmed with people, who come to worship before 
the hideous idols. The grounds are a gathering 
place for venders of small articles, for the loiterers 
and the gossips. I saw no collection boxes like 
those in the Japanese temples, but the revenues 
must nevertheless be considerable, since one of the 
richest bankers of Canton is the owner and the 
chief bonze of one of the best kept temples in these 
grounds. 

Our guide, Wong a Yew, drummed out a bonze 
who lived in one of a long row of houses connected 
with the main temple. This bonze ushered us into 
his parlor and offered us some sweetmeats in a very- 
polite manner. His dwelling was comfortably 
furnished, though he probably was not getting an 
excessive rake-off from the temple revenues. Be- 
fore we left the grounds, we were introduced also 
to the above mentioned banker-bonze, who went 
by the name of Ha-Ko. A large area was occupied 
by his own private temple, summerhouses, gardens, 
dwellings, wives' apartments and club rooms. The 
gardens were artistically laid out. Many of the 
seats and couches in the summerhouse were of in- 
laid or enameled porcelain and bronze, to serve as 
cool resting places in warm weather. The apart- 
ments, which were delightfully airy, were furnished 
with richest silk upholstered furniture, costly inlaid 
tables and silk tapestry. He showed us also the 



CANTON STREETS 121 

club, or meeting rooms of the bonzes. These were 
near his own private dwelHng and were furnished 
with richly decorated altars of gods, red silk 
cushioned chairs and couches, lackered and gilt 
woodwork. Ha-Ko's family belonged to the priestly 
cast. Though it was not yet eight o'clock, he 
nevertheless received us very politely and accom- 
panied us on our tour of inspection. He kept shy, 
however, of a long row of apartments, saying that 
they were occupied by his selection of wives and 
their attendants, and that the hour was too early 
for seeing that part of his residence. With a few 
changes in the arrangement and in the style of 
furniture, Ha-Ko's establishment would easily have 
been changed into a villa of some European nabob. 
The streets of Canton seem to be kept rather 
cleaner than is ordinary in Chinese cities ; but they 
are just as narrow as those of Shanghai. The 
streets not devoted to business are only narrow 
lanes between two bare and high walls. The 
Chinese are not prone to show their wealth in the 
outward appearance of their city dwellings. Their 
houses are shut in by high walls and the passerby 
can judge of the wealth of the inhabitants only by 
a ghmpse through the grated portals in the wall. 
The decorated dwelling and the beautiful garden 
will then easily convince him that the owner must 
be wealthy. But by far the greater portion of the 



122 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

population is abjectly poor and their dwellings are 
most miserable hovels, or, as we have seen, rude 
sampans. Some of the main streets seem to be 
swept and nicely cleaned, but the rough cobble- 
stones are worn smooth by the swarms that scurry 
along all day, eagerly intent on all sorts of business. 
The booths and shops, especially those along the 
streets bordering the river bank, are long rows of 
open shanties, where each merchant piles up his 
small stock of goods as much as possible in full 
view, while he himself stands or sits amid his mer- 
chandise, keenly watching for prospective buyers. 
As a general rule, each one deals in one certain kind 
of commodity, and this, no doubt, accounts for the 
countless number of shops, which is much greater 
than even the reported two millions of inhabitants 
of Canton seem to warrant. As a general thing, the 
stranger is not molested in Canton; the natives 
passed us without much concern, only now and 
then a concealed contempt might be noticed in the 
faces of the well-to-do. As for the merchants, the 
only gage by which they judge of the stranger, is 
the amount of trade to be gotten out of him. The 
Chinaman is the keenest tradesman wherever he is 
found outside of China, and he is not backward in 
this regard in his own country, you may be sure. 
He is satisfied with small profits — ^wherever he can- 
not get larger — ^but on the whole, I think that he is 



RELIGION 123 



not apt to overcharge so much as the tradesmen in 
India. Perhaps that is because the Chinaman is not 
so bold and more poHtic in his demands. He 
probably recognizes the fact that a little honesty 
is good to cover up much cheating and lying. Thus, 
while he does not make such occasional large profits 
as his Indian brother, he makes a great many small 
ones and some larger ones in between. The fact is, 
that wherever he sets up his business, he is seen to 
prosper sooner than any other tradesman. 

The French Catholic missionaries have a flour- 
ishing mission in Canton. The Cathedral is in the 
Gothic style, almost the only European building 
in Canton, of course exclusive of the European 
settlement, on the other side of the Pearl river. 
Missionary work in China is carried on with suc- 
cess by the Catholics, for these missionaries sacri- 
fice themselves entirely, identifying themselves 
with the people and becoming in their dress and 
habits to all intents and purposes a part of the 
nation, in order to gain souls for Christ. 

The Chinese are at the bottom more a nation of 
materialists than of heathens; for the fusion of 
Buddhism and Confucianism, which compose their 
religions, is nothing else than a gross materialism 
hidden beneath the cult of thousands of gods. 
All their idols represent more or less the forces of 
nature, which they try to make propitious to them 



124 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

by their religious observances. The idea of an all 
powerful and supreme Ruler is almost entirely- 
obscured beneath mere earthly conceptions and 
aims. The after life of the soul has nothing of 
spirituality and real immortality about it in their 
estimation, and its happiness or unhappiness after 
death is pictured to their minds under entirely 
material colors. Hence it is not easy to convert 
the Chinese; the Christian conceptions of the Al- 
mighty and of the immortality of the soul are too 
far above their way of thinking. The CathoHc 
converts are mostly from the ranks of the poor and 
lowly, and the missionaries must not only be able 
to offer them the word of God, but also the pros- 
pect of obtaining a living after conversion, if they 
wish to have any success. 

It is no joke for a Chinese malefactor, or even 
for an innocent person, to be brought before the 
tribunal of justice in China. Let him bring some 
friend with him, who can "speak for him," for 
otherwise he is delivered over to certain torture 
or death. At his very entrance into the dingy 
court rooms, fear will take possession of his heart. 
At the farther end, on a raised platform, sits the 
portly judge; no compassion in his broad face. 
At each side are attendants; before him in front 
of the platform, are the jailors and executioners. 
They stand ready at the beck of the judge to 



CHINESE JUSTICE 125 

apply all the instruments of torture that litter the 
room. From the narrow passage one of the 
trembling wretches is now brought in. On his 
knees he crawls up toward the platform with head 
bowed almost to the ground. 

He is accused of being one of the river pirates. 
The judge asks whether there is anyone to ''speak 
for him." Nobody appears. Well, what has he 
to say for himself? The victim sees his fate al- 
ready sealed. If he pleads guilty, instant sentence 
of death will fall from the lips of the judge; if he 
denies his guilt, he will be torn to pieces by those 
instruments of torture until he does plead guilty. 
With chattering teeth and a blank stare he remains 
mute. Terror has robbed him of speech. The 
judge orders him to be stripped of his torn and thin 
clothes up to the waist. At another sign from the 
judge one of the jailors seizes a split bamboo rod 
and lets the swishing strokes rain down on the bare 
back. Each stroke makes a double welt across 
the body. The moaning of the victim fills the hall 
but he dares not utter a word during the pause 
which the executioner makes in the flogging, for he 
dreads immediate sentence of death, if he con- 
fesses. Again the bamboo is applied, until the 
back of the accused is one gashing wound, his 
eyes bulge out and pain distorts every muscle of 
his face. But fear still paralyzes the poor pirate. 



126 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

There are many others waiting, however, and the 
judge will not waste time. He gives an angry- 
order. A movable frame is brought into the middle 
of the room, a little toward one side. Through a 
hole in this frame about four feet from the floor, 
the pigtail of the moaning victim is drawn, his head 
is jerked up and the queue is securely fastened on 
the other side. Then a tough cord is fastened to 
each thumb and the ends of these cords are drawn 
through other holes and are stretched out on the 
frame. Like cords are tied to his toes and these 
are also fastened through the movable wall about 
a foot above the floor. Thus the victim of the law 
hangs by his thumbs and by his hair on the un- 
yielding boards, only his knees slightly touching 
the floor. Facing the stern judge in this torturing 
position, he is left to figure out for himself whether 
it would not be better to speak and end the agony. 

But even if he should wish to speak now he may 
have to endure this torture for hours and days, 
until it shall please the judge to hear him. Or if he 
hesitates too long in spite of the pain, the judge 
may at any moment order all the other instru- 
ments of torture, that stand and hang around the 
room to be put in requisition. No wonder that 
many of the criminals submit stoically to the death 
sentence for they know but too well, that justice 
can substitute a slow, lingering death for the swift 



CANALS 127 



one of the sword. It is better to be led out into 
yonder courtyard and bow the head to one swift 
stroke of the executioner's axe, than to be chained 
to a stone flag and thrown into a dark vault without 
power of moving hands or feet, or to have one's 
head fastened in the square frame of the kang too 
high to stand, except on the toes, and too low to 
end life by hanging from the neck, or to be fastened 
by hands, feet and neck in the stocks and left to die 
a slow, lingering death. 

Chinese justice is but the tyranny of hell, modeled 
after the fierce cruelty of their merciless gods, 
untempered with mercy. Woe to the victim that 
falls into its clutches : unless he has money or friends, 
his guilt is presumed, and he must prove his inno- 
cence, else Chinese justice will glut itself with his 
writhing torments. 

Canton is cut up by numerous canals, connecting 
with the Takiang river and through it, with the 
whole of China. Trade with the interior is carried 
on by houseboats of all sizes, and hundreds of thou- 
sands of people, that make these boats their home, 
ply up and down the canals and the river in the 
neighborhood of Canton. A gorgeous flowerboat, 
with double decks like a small river steamer, was 
moving up stream, when, through the winding 
streets, we again came to the banks of the river. 
There are a great number of these boats, not only 



128 Q^ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

for the sale of flowers, but as pleasure resorts, 
where rich Chinese hold their receptions and par- 
ties. When a Chinaman wants to entertain his 
friends he hires one of these flowerboats for the 
day or for the night. He sends out invitations 
and at the appointed time he and his friends are 
received in grand style by the boat owners. A 
banquet is in readiness, the strains of music re- 
sound, young maidens attired in rich and pleasing 
costumes glide about, attending to the wants of 
the guests, and in pleasant conversation the time 
passes away, altogether free and untrammeled by 
the restraints of home or family. 

From Canton we wanted to take passage on a 
small steamer to Macao, the Portuguese colony on 
one of the mouths of the Takiang river. In order 
to put us aboard the steamer a small house- 
boat took us in charge. It was tenanted by about 
eight or ten persons and the women did the sculling, 
one of them with an infant lashed behind to her 
shoulders. Just as we neared the boat, which 
was to take us to Macao, a collision of two house- 
boats occurred and a coolie dropped overboard. 
Nobody seemed to mind it and the coolie had to 
clamber up the side of his boat as best he could. 
He simply took off the few dripping rags in full 
view and probably got along with a minimum of 
clothing for the rest of that day. 



IN THE STEERAGE 129 



The covered deck in the rear of the steamboat, 
where we had that day cast our lot with some 
fifty celestials of the poorer class, presented a scene 
distinctly Chinese. Each one, and we were no 
exception, sought some place to sit or move about 
among the bales of merchandise, that took in most 
of the floor space. Groups of Chinese formed 
themselves, squatting on the floor or on the pack- 
ages of freight, or lying in the shelved bunks along 
the sides. They all seemed a very quiet set, con- 
versing only in low tones, or smoking opium in a 
dark corner. Near us, seated on some packages, 
were four Chinamen playing cards nearly all day 
without uttering more than a few low monosyl- 
lables at long intervals. Their cards were not wider 
than perhaps half of an inch and about four inches 
long. There were seventy-two of them, covered 
with red and black spots from one to twelve, and 
all were dealt out in rotation, one at a time, to 
each of the players. The game seemed to consist 
in eliminating certain kinds and being able to re- 
tain others. Sometimes they would throw down 
7 or 8 at a time. They dexterously held forty or 
fifty cards, spread out in neat fan-like shape be- 
tween two fingers. The grand stake was a "cash," 
or one-twelfth of a cent, that is, one of the per- 
forated brass coins. Stoically they played on, 
having about them a circle of interested onlookers 



130 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

most of the time. What indifference to loss or 
gain! Almost like that of their white brother 
gamblers in Monte Carlo or some other dive. I 
think one of them lost at least twenty or thirty of 
those brass coins that day. Well, maybe he was 
a millionaire, but he did not have the appearance 
of one. 

Of course we were scanned with curious eyes, 
but in such a way that it was not irksome. A 
small boy planted himself in front of us and watched 
our every motion for some time. I gave him some 
"cashes" and he scampered away to his father to 
show him the present. But we had not bargained 
for what happened next. The father came up from 
the rear with a basket, that had the dirt of genera- 
tions clinging to it. He began to spread out on a 
box before us, its uninviting contents. I afterwards 
found out, that they were new year's offerings, 
brought from some temple in Canton, and that 
they were intended as special gifts for his family at 
home. He nearly emptied his precious store in his 
eagerness to please us. But we were hard to please. 
We looked too much on the outside of things. If 
we could only bring ourselves to take a hearty bite 
through the dirty crust of that riceball, we would 
perhaps see that it tastes better than it looks. Or 
what difference should it make to see that others, 
perhaps mice or (who knows ?) perhaps the grinning 



A BANQUET 131 



gods in that temple had nibbled at the pastry? 
Or why did we only look at that greasy lump of 
fish and meat? We probably missed our only 
chance of tasting rat-meat, or snake-meat, as is fit 
only for the gods! By the bye, anything would 
be fit for the Chinese gods. That Chinaman must 
have taken us for queer people. To look at such 
a selection of viands, and scarcely taste them! 
But we preferred to let him wonder, or to let him 
think that we were far ahead of any of the bonzes 
or Buddhist monks in matters of mortification and 
abstinence. 

A young Chinese, much more decent in appear- 
ance than the rest, had been eyeing me very closely 
as I said my office, and had scrutinized the gold 
cross on my watchchain several times. He came 
up after some time and taking hold of the cross, 
asking me by the help of a few French words and 
by making the sign of the cross, whether I was a 
Catholic. I learned that he belonged to the large 
congregation of Chinese Catholic in charge of the 
priests of the Canton Cathedral. His name was 
Ching Chu How and the difference between him 
and his heathen companions, even as far as the 
exterior is concerned, was clearly apparent. Chris- 
tianity in these heathen countries is connected with 
great sacrifices, and therefore true converts, if they 
remain steadfast for any length of time, must cer- 



132 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

tainly practice all the Christian virtues from sincere 
conviction. Nobody remains a sham Catholic 
there for a long time ; it does not pay. The en- 
nobling influences of divine faith therefore become 
apparent in a short time in their whole bearing. In 
the case of this young man it had given to his face 
a certain refinement and nobleness, which I think 
I would have noticed even if I had not been told, 
that he was a Christian. He belonged to the same 
poor class of people as those lying around, but 
there was absent about his person the slovenliness, 
the slinking secrecy, the signs of hidden vices and 
indulgences so much in evidence on the counte- 
nances of most of the others. For nearly the whole 
day this young Chinese kept near us, though he 
could speak but little with us, nor we with him, 
except in signs. Even his mere presence was, to me 
at least, a pleasure. 

What we have seen of the Chinese so far im- 
pressed us with their peaceable and unobtrusive 
disposition and I am inclined to lay the blame for 
the uprisings in the interior to the greed and 
haughtiness of the Europeans, encroaching upon 
the rights and territories of Chinese. It is no 
doubt also a significant fact, that the white inhabi- 
tants doing business or holding office in the Chinese 
seaports and in India, freely accuse the Protestant 
missionaries of insincerity, greediness and of calling 



CONVERTS 133 



too much on the support of their governments in 
order to push their indiscreet efforts at conversion. 
How true this accusation is, we were not in a posi- 
tion to ascertain. It is, however, well known that 
the Protestant convert seldom leaves Buddhism or 
Brahmanism in sincere conviction. As Protestant 
missions are well supplied with money and in- 
fluence, the natives very often forswear heathenism 
merely for worldly advancement. 

Even this, no doubt, is an improvement on his 
former state, whenever it is lasting; but the 
trouble is, that it is mostly only a temporary 
change and has the effect of loosening the good 
moral principles, which even Buddhism and Con- 
fucianism, or even a worse form of heathenism, 
indirectly inculcates in the human heart. As soon 
as the material benefit accruing from the accept- 
ance of the Christian faith ceases, those that are not 
sincere converts fall away from all Christian re- 
straint and are apt to be set adrift in regard to all 
religious convictions. 

It is the common complaint of business people 
in the Orient that unfaithful converts to Chris- 
tianity are far more perverse than the heathens 
themselves. Of course, this, in itself, is not yet an 
argument against all missionary work among the 
heathens ; but it assumes a very discouraging aspect, 
when the number of unfaithful converts far out- 



134 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 



Strips the faithful ones, which is bound to be the 
only result of buying converts in heathen countries. 
It is on this account, that many practical business 
men and clear-sighted white residents of these coun- 
tries, though they themselves are good Christian 
men, see no good in missionaries and, in fact, are 
positively hostile toward the whole missionary 
propaganda among heathen nations. We admit, 
that they go too far in their wholesale condemna- 
tion. This hostile spirit of white residents partly 
extends also to the Catholic missionaries, though 
the results of their labors are much more stable and 
satisfactory. 

At about four o'clock we came in sight of the 
port of Macao and its yellow rows of buildings. 
It is built on a spur of the mountain, which runs 
into the ocean in the shape of a half moon. On the 
highest hill, in the midst of the town, the charred 
walls of the facade of the cathedral of St. Paul 
stand forth. The sky glares through the Gothic 
openings of the top windows of the facade, reveal- 
ing from afar the architectural outhnes of the once 
magnificent structure. These aspiring ruins are 
an impressive reminder of the dire results of the 
expulsion of the Jesuits and the destruction of 
their missions through the machinations of Pombal 
in 1773. 

After leaving the steamer, a rickshaw took us up 



MACAO 135 



the steeps incline of the crooked streets to the new 
Jesuit college. Here I expected to meet the Rev. 
W. H. , S. J. , a former fellow student at college. He 
had not yet returned from his walk, but a Portu- 
guese father, who had received us at the gate, 
showed us through the college, the church and the 
gardens. The college is built on a rocky plateau 
and its long, vaulted corridors and rows of rooms and 
study-halls could accommodate ten times the num- 
ber of its present students and professors. Outside 
in the gardens and playgrounds the small and large 
students were making the chill air resound with 
gleeful shouts and laughter, no less than our boys 
are accustomed to do. They were mostly of 
Portuguese descent and their behavior toward us 
and the father was very polite and respectful. In 
the garden is a banyan tree, the stem of which is 
nearly ten feet in circumference, and it dates back 
to the beginnings of the college. 

Our Portuguese conductor offered to accompany 
us on a rickshaw ride around Macao, a proposition 
which we heartily endorsed. He spoke no Eng- 
lish, but managed along with French. Down along 
the esplanade skirting the harbor's edge, ran our 
three cooHes with their rickshaws and afterwards 
up to the parks on the plateau, which were very 
tastefully laid out and well kept. Climbing up the 
mountain side, we visited also the military hospital. 



136 O^ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

On a still higher ledge stood the ancient lighthouse 
and the beautiful chapel, said to have been built by 
Vasco de Gama himself. From our elevated posi- 
tion we could survey the whole city. Above the 
rest of the buildings rose the churches of the Jesuits, 
the Dominicans, Augustinians and the native or 
Chinese Catholic church. Nearly all the Chinese 
of this neighborhood have long ago been con- 
verted to the Catholic faith and the Chinese 
quarters differ little from the European portions of 
the town. 

On re-entering the university we were welcomed 
by the kind voice of Father Hornsby, who with the 
exception of a thin beard, had not altered in the 
long years of sacrifice in a strange and inhospitable 
country. He had lived in China all the time and 
had only recently been transferred to Macao Uni- 
versity, principally in order to teach English. I 
passed a few pleasant hours with friend Hornsby. 
We were, of course, invited to stay over night in the 
college. It must have been a grand institution in 
the prosperous days of Portuguese rule. Now, 
however, its long-stretched corridors are almost 
empty, and our footfalls in passing over the rough 
floors as darkness set in, seemed but the faint echoes 
of thousands of nimblefooted students of bygone 
times. What massive walls, still covered with the 
coarse plastering of 150 years ago! What rough 




HISTORIC BANYAN, JESUIT COLLEGE, MACAO 



JUSUIT COLLEGE 137 

hewn door frames and panels, what antiquated, sim- 
ple furniture in each room! At nine o'clock all life 
had died away in the extensive building and its 
inmates lay buried in sleep, until the shrieking gong 
resounded at half past four in the morning and 
roused the slumberers. No doubt for a few 
hundred years, with the exception of the time 
during which the order was suppressed, the gong 
had sounded the same hours of retirement and 
awakening. 

After morning service, Father Hornsby was 
again at our side. He showed us the cherished 
relic of St. Francis Xavier: his arm encased in a 
silver shrine, in one of the chapels of the institution. 
Sancian, where the Saint ended his life, is one of 
the neighboring islands. His body was taken to 
Goa, while one of his arms remained here. 

It was time to catch the Hung Shang for our 
return to Hong Kong, and Father Hornsby insisted 
on accompanying us to the wharf. On the way 
down we visited an opium distillery. The dried 
lotus plant is imported mostly from India in the 
shape of compressed balls, about ten inches in 
diameter. Along the walls of the factory, over 
open fires, flat bottomed copper pans were half 
filled with the dried lotus plants and water. This 
mixture is boiled down to the consistency of syrup, 
pressed through a strainer to separate the leaves 



138 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

and then hermetically sealed in metal boxes. 
CooHes were tending to the fires and the boiHng 
liquids, from which arose noisome fumes. The 
whole establishment looked like an extensive black- 
smith shop with many forges ablowing. 

The wharf was crowded with people, for every- 
where we noticed that the Orientals are great trav- 
elers. A hearty shaking of hands, many friendly 
adieus, and we were again on board the steamer. 
As the boat moved away we saw the good priest 
wending his way up the steep street to the univer- 
sity, turning round once more to wave adieu. Will 
he ever return homeward to see the friends of his 
youth? He will, if the gentle call of his superiors 
is wafted over watery wastes to his attentive ears. 

As the vessel rounded the peninsula, on which 
Macao is built, the morning sun shone brightly on 
the receding panorama of light-colored buildings, 
that rose in tiers up the hill sides. During our 
passage to Hong Kong a pair of deckhands armed 
with rifles paced up and down the deck of the 
steamer. The captain bluntly answered to my 
inquiry about them: "One never knows at what 
moment some of these yellow-skins may rise to exe- 
cute some devilish scheme or other." I conjec- 
tured, that it must be a remnant of the precaution 
against pirates of former times; or else it was 
merely a piece of swaggering humbug of these Eng- 



HONG KONG AGAIN 139 



lish invaders. The vessel picked its way between 
headlands and islands scattered on all sides. 
Heavy mists began to fall over the rugged main- 
land, driven along and sometimes parted by the 
gusts of wind. The fitful sunshine would now 
and then light up the swiftly moving mists, that 
looked hke white monsters playing hide and seek 
among the hilltops. 

At noon again the glorious surroundings of Hong 
Kong city and harbor came into view. The wharf 
where we landed was swarming with Chinese craft : 
sampans, bamboo-ribbed sails, junks with grotesque 
prows and larger vessels with huge eyes painted in 
glaring colors on each side. After taking a few 
snapshots with our camera, we started out on a 
stroll through the Chinese quarters of Hong Kong. 
It is, of course, under strict supervision of the Eng- 
Hsh government and so the streets are kept in a 
clean and sanitary condition. The buildings are a 
continued row of four or five storied buildings with 
pillared porches for each story and shops of all 
kinds in the ground floor; they must have been 
intended as a sort of compromise between Chinese 
houses and modern business buildings on a small 
scale. But the manners and habits of the Chinese 
undergo Httle change in whatever houses they live, 
or in whatever country. 

The streets offered a busy scene: rickshaw men 



140 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

by the score, hurrying to and fro; cooHes under 
their umbrella hats, staggering under the heavy 
loads suspended on each side from their yokesticks ; 
ox-teamsters, urging their patient beasts through 
the streets. The shops presented a yet stranger 
sight: naked coolies treading on the ends of beams 
to raise the huge pounding-stones over grain pits; 
whole families squatting in front of warehouses 
sewing tea-sacks; cobblers pounding away at the 
soles of queer-looking shoes ; rattan plaiters, almost 
buried under the long bamboo-splits to make all 
sorts of useful articles; junk-dealers, groping 
around in their dark corners among their worthless 
metal scraps; carpenters, most ridiculously (at least 
to European eyes) drawing unwieldly saws toward 
them through thick logs in order to cut out about 
one decent board a day; opium-den keepers sitting 
in more or less (especially less) luxurious offices to 
await victims ; drygoods shops, with their owners 
ready to count out yards and cash on the abacus 
or counting frame; tobacco shops, with all sorts 
of Chinese trifles to eke out the scanty stock of 
unsmokeable (and it seemed, unsmoked) cigars 
and cigarettes ; peddlers, with their wares suspend- 
ed from the ends of the shoulderstick, repeating 
their thin-voiced Chinese calls; barbers on the 
street corners or in their open shops, standing in 
front of their customers scratching off the scanty 




PUBLIC PARK, MACAO 



STREET SCENES 141 

beards without soap, or plaiting the dangling queue. 

My companion subjected himself to the tender 
mercies of one of these barbers. Bolt upright the 
little man had to sit on a stool without a back-rest. 
Then, with a knife not larger than a small penknife, 
and merely wetting the chin with some water, the 
dexterous Chinaman began to scrape the cropping 
beard. Soon the harvest was over, and it was a 
good job as far as the face was concerned; but un- 
fortunately M. stopped short and would not allow 
the barber to attach one of their stock of queues. 
The whole operation cost him, I believe, twelve 
cashes, or about one and a half cents of our money. 
But then you must consider that the Chinese 
barber neither uses soap, nor did he draw any blood, 
or try to entertain you by conversation. All these 
things, of course, you are supposed to pay for in 
civilized countries. The Chinese barbers seem to 
think these additions unessential. Well, they are 
a perverse set, I suppose. 

If you want to cause a good-sized crowd to 
gather in the twinkling of an eye in a Chinese 
street, just throw down five cents worth of cashes 
on the pavement. Like a shoal of minnows will 
they gather and there will be an amusing scamble 
of Chinese, young and old, to get in possession of 
some of the filthy lucre. While sitting in one of the 
shoe-shops in order to get some work done on our 



142 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

footwear, we tried the experiment and very soon 
the street was completely blocked. But don't let 
them find you out as the source of this money- 
rain. Let them rather believe that it is dropping 
from the clouds. In one unguarded moment they 
saw us throw the miserable cashes and the conse- 
quence was that the shop was for a time simply 
blockaded and, after pressing through the crowds 
at the door, though we almost ran along the streets, 
we had a surging mob of Chinese following in our 
wake for quite a while. 

The cable cars, that run up to the top of Mt. 
Victoria from the residence portion of Hong Kong 
take a zigzag course through most charming scenery. 
Very often a dizzy sensation seizes the passenger, 
as he seems to be dragged up at an angle of 45 
degrees and looks down the awful declivities. Turn 
upon turn discloses a more charming and ever ex- 
panding view of the city and its surroundings. 
From the upper terminus there is still a mile of 
carriage roads and foot paths to the summit, but 
the vast expanse of scenery richly repays the 
exertion of climbing the ascent. Beneath us, on 
one side, lay Hong Kong and its blue harbor with 
hundreds of vessels of all sizes. Our eyes swept 
over the headlands, and island-gems of the circling 
harbor still belonging to China, while to the south 
we viewed a vast panorama of peaked islands 



ON THE ESMERALDA 143 

and stretches of gleaming water between, and far 
beyond, the rolHng billows of the Yellow Sea. The 
slanting rays of the afternoon sun cast a mellow 
light over the verdant peaks and the slowly heaving 
ocean. 

Down near the wharf, across from the palatial cus- 
tom house lay the "Esmeralda," which was getting 
up steam for the trip to Manila, and aboard of which 
we had already stored our baggage. Even now it 
was belching forth clouds of black smoke. As the 
hour set for its departure was at hand, that rising 
volume of smoke made us anxious lest we should 
arrive too late to get aboard; our descent, and our 
rickshaw- and sampan-ride to her deck, bore all the 
symptoms of a stampede. The "Esmeralda" was 
not a very large steamer, but the accommodations 
were satisfactory. She is, of course, owned by the 
English, as is nearly all shipping in those regions. 
It is to be hoped that the Americans will soon 
enter a wedge of competition in the passenger and 
freight trade of these waters : many things will then 
be more pleasantly arranged for the traveler and 
the merchant as well. Our hurry was needless ; it 
was hours before the "Esmeralda" weighed anchor 
and slowly glided'past Hong Kong through a passage 
between the islands opposite to that where we had 
entered on the GaeHc, As darkness settled over 
the waters, we reached the v/ide expanse of the 



144 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

ocean. Through the night our trusty boat swayed 
over the mighty swells, and up from the bottomless 
deep came the creeping fiend of seasickness, en- 
thralling most of the few passengers in its sinister 
numbness. The weather became wet and sultry. 
A west wind began to sweep across our beam and 
raised the surging waves, that ceaselessly tossed 
the steamer from crested summit to deepening 
water-trough through all the night. So we lay 
helpless during the darksome hours, wedged in 
our narrow bunks, lulled to fitful sleep by the 
roaring of the sea and the creaking of the much- 
strained ship timbers and the thumping of the 
engines. 

Practical Hints. — Those that have time and 
money can extend their trip in China indefinitely 
and they will find it interesting, as long as they 
do not get tired of riding in a mule cart or crouching 
under the low roofs of the river boats. One could 
take the steamer from Shanghai to Taku and make 
the short trip from there to Pekin by rail, then 
from Pekin by mule cart to the Great Wall. He 
could return to Shanghai by houseboat on the 
Peiho and the Imperial canal and even vary this 
trip by an excursion up the great Yellow or Hoang- 
ho River. From Shanghai he could have a steam- 
boat to Hankow on the other great river of China, 



PRACTICAL HINTS 145 

the Yangtse Kiang, and farther, and if he wanted 
to get a full dose of native travel, let him jolt down 
on an ox or mule cart hundreds of miles from 
Hankow to Canton. By the time he would get to 
the latter city he would no doubt rank not only as 
a common tourist, but as a great explorer, at least 
great in the endurance of all kinds of hardships. 
A great part of the time he would have to be satis- 
fied with the fare of the natives, which to judge 
from the samples that we were supposed to eat 
would be probably just a trifle uninviting. How- 
ever, even for this there is a relief also in China : to 
hunger as a cook, I can give my best recommenda- 
tions, as I had occasion for his services more than 
once on the trip. 

Differences of opinion in regard to the route to 
be taken will infallibly arise where there are several 
in a party. Therefore it is best not to count upon 
the company of more than one or two. Where 
parties travel under the leadership of a guide and 
under contracts, as they do in the regular tourists' 
excursions, of course there is no choice of com- 
panions left to the individual, unless he prefers to 
separate altogether. I can only say that in a great 
many instances, he would do better to separate, 
even at the loss of money paid in. It is more 
satisfactory to follow your own inclinations at a 
little extra cost, than to follow listlessly in the 
regular routine of tourists' travel. 



146 O^ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

As regards round trip tickets for long distances, 
they can be had, no doubt, at reduced rates. How- 
ever, the reduction in rates will not be equal to the 
amount one can save by taking second or third 
class tickets for those stretches of the journey, 
where the differences in the classes is not so great, 
or where second or third class is preferable for the 
purpose of seeing something of the natives of the 
country. If one has a round trip ticket and desires 
to deviate from the prescribed route, let him take 
care not to engage any berths beforehand on the 
steamers and, if possible, retain the original coupons 
which he has received at the starting point. It 
will be much easier to get a refund for unused por- 
tions of his tickets. As a general rule also it is 
better to buy from the transportation companies' 
offices direct, rather than to deal with secondary 
agents. 



CHAPTER V 

At the Edge of a Typhoon. — ^Past Cavite to 
Manila. — Quartered near the Luneta. — ^In 
Torrid Clime. — ^Peering into Friars' Cells. — 
Amid the Ruins of the War. — Jolting along a 
Filipino Railroad. — ^Up the Pasig and the 
Inland Lakes.— Cascoes.— Our Soldier Boys. 
— ^A visit to General Otis and Archbishop 
Chapelle. — Jesuit Observatory. — Roamings 
through Manila. — ^Aboard the Palitana. 

The morning broke upon the storm-tossed sea, 
cloudy and sultry. Like a nutshell the steamer 
was hurled to and fro on the surging billows, for as 
the captain told us, we were on the ragged edge of a 
hurricane raging in its full force farther westward. 
Wave upon wave came tumbling over the low 
bulwarks of the steamer, which was heavily laden 
with war supplies for the Philippines. Once 
aboard, the wave would start to swish across the 
deck as the vessel righted itself. Not finding 
egress there in so short a time, back it would roll to 
the side on which it had entered, just in time to 
encounter another foaming billow swooping atop 
of it over the side of the vessel and uniting with it 

147 



148 OT.R OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

in its oft repeated course across the deck. And so 
the angry play of the waves continued through the 
day with ceaseless rush and deafening noise. 
Listless, I lay on the soft cushions of the dining- 
room seats, oppressed by fell seasickness. There 
was no getting up and walking around on such a 
frantic deck and with such a rebellious stomach. 
My companion inquired sometimes, how I was 
getting along; I answered with grim humor, that 
there certainly was enough motion inside and out- 
side of me to be "getting along" at a million miles 
a minute. He merely smiled in approval; he 
always smiled when he did not understand. I 
like these deaf people, especially in the noise of a 
storm at sea. You get a smile and an assent, 
though your joke is as dense as ink and as bitter 
as gall. 

The waves continued unabated during the second 
day and the weather was even more damp and 
sultry than on the first. The dampness in these 
latitudes is oppressive. You almost think that you 
are breathing through a watersoaked sponge. At 
the same time you cannot come to the full con- 
viction that you are drowning, for, while you inhale 
so much moisture, you feel the clammy perspiration 
running out of your pores in a thousand streams. 
The few passengers were all suffering in the same 
way, if not in the same degree as myself. Mr. 



MANILA BAY 149 



Havers, a drummer for the Rainier Brewing Co., 
Seattle, Mr. Clark, representing a Hong Kong 
merchant firm, and Mr. Nichols, sent by a Colorado 
mining company to prospect on the Philippines were 
about the only ones who were seen about on board 
ship. 

But on the third day, a Monday, the sun rose 
over a placid sea and its glorious morning rays re- 
vealed to our left the island of Corregidor and to 
our right the jutting shores of Ternate of the main- 
land. Ahead of us lay the vast bay of Manila, 
while a faint smokiness in the sky indicated the site 
of Manila itself. The opening between Corregidor 
and the mainland, where alone warships can enter, 
is only a narrow channel and it seems strange that 
Dewey's ships should have passed here almost at 
the cannon's mouth. Only the grossest negligence 
on the one side, and the utmost daring on the other, 
could make the passage at all possible. Further on, 
to our right in the surf at the foot of the green hills 
of Ternate, lay the sad wrecks of two recently 
stranded vessels. The smooth waters of the bay 
were dotted with the odd-shaped cascoes and 
fishermen's boats. The steeples and wharfs of 
Manila appeared after a few hours and our vessel 
dropped her anchor about two miles from the 
entrance to the Pasig. Several American trans- 
ports and five or six U. S. warships rode on the 



150 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

gentle swell, while other vessels, in great number, 
were loading or unloading around us. 

All was life and animation, such as probably 
these waters had never seen before. Three or four 
miles to the right, the wall of Fort Cavite rose on 
the low shores, while the spars and smokestacks of 
the unfortunate sunken Spanish warships peered 
above the bright sunlit waters in front of it. It 
must have been just such a bright morning as this, 
when Dewey and his gallant captains veered in 
semi-circle up and down the stretch of water about 
a mile to our right and ended Spanish possession 
of Manila bay. Though there may be widely dif- 
ferent opinions concerning the justice of the cause, 
there can be no doubt about the magnificent cour- 
age and heroism of the deed. That the Spanish 
naval forces did not, or could not, make much show 
of resistance, only influenced the final success of the 
attack, but could not diminish the amount of cour- 
age required in making the onslaught. According 
to all appearances and according to careful com- 
parison, the Spanish navy was superior to the 
American and a policy of defense rather than of 
attack would have been the course of ordinary 
courage. Dewey therefore showed the courage 
of heroes, not only in attempting to enter the bay, 
but in beginning the attack, and bringing it to 
so splendid a victory. 



DOCK LIFE 151 



During the formalities imposed by the custom 
regulations and the health department, which con- 
sumed several hours, there was a pleasant inter- 
change of opinion between the passengers on board, 
something which had not been possible during 
the rough weather on the two previous days. Most 
of them had lived for some time on the island and 
they were of opinion that the United States, after 
matters had come to such a point, could do nothing 
else than keep possession of the islands. They 
however probably spoke merely from a business 
standpoint, regardless of the right or wrong, or of 
the inclination of the Filipinos themselves. A 
guard of soldiers was left on board the "Esmeralda" 
to see, that the regulations incident to military rule, 
were not infringed upon. 

Towards noon the tug brought us with our bag- 
gage to the mouth of the Pasig and up along the 
wharfs and warehouses to the U. S. customs build- 
ing. Incredible bustle and action enlivened the 
river banks. Countless vessels, tugs, cascoes and 
sampans swarmed on the water; clumsy trucks, 
oxcarts, drays, handcarts, Chinese cooHes and 
malays, almost nak-ed, and here and there an 
American giving orders, horses, mules and water- 
buffaloes moved about among the heaps of mer- 
chandise. The U. S. custom regulations were 
more annoying and were enforced by a set of more 



152 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

inconsiderate officials, than those of any other 
country. They rummaged through our hand- 
bags in a most unpardonable way and triumphantly 
appropriated an old pistol from one of my valises. 
The whole proceeding was ludicrous and childish 
and was attended to by a lot of fellows that would 
disgrace any Turkish dougane. 

Having been released from their importunities, 
we proceeded along the river bank up to the bridge, 
which connects the Escolta or main business street 
of Manila with the fine driveway of the Luneta, 
or spacious park curving along the beach of the bay. 
At the bridge we hired an old-fashioned cabriolet 
and drove along the Luneta to its farther end, 
where we put up at the Grand Hotel in the Ermite 
addition of Manila. This hotel must have formerly 
been a villa, now appropriated for hotel purposes 
by an irascible, yet cavalierly Australian. 

We had scarcely been settled in our rooms when 
we heard the voices of Rev. B. and V. H. sounding 
up from below. In their company was Rev. Mc 
Kinnon, the U. S. army chaplain, who now in- 
vited us all to dinner at the hotel. He had his 
rooms adjoining our own and he was just about to 
take his two accidental acquaintances to the great 
Jesuit observatory, before they would have to 
leave on their return to Hong Kong. My views 
as to routes, which entailed our separation, were 




PASIG RIVER AT MANILA HARBOR 



THE ESCOLTA 153 



entirely vindicated. They had arrived only twenty- 
four hours before us and would have to embark 
today, if they did not wish to miss the P. & O. 
steamer in Hong Kong. We would have nearly 
a week in the Philippines and would very likely 
overtake their boat in Singapore at hardly any 
extra expense. 

After dinner we made our preHminary tour of 
inspection of the business part of Manila. A 
cuchero took us along the walls and moat of the 
old town to the Spanish bridge, built in 1626 by 
Ninos de Tavola. On the other side of this bridge 
begins the new addition of the last hundred years, 
where the main business streets of Manila are 
located. The Pasig river divides it from the old 
walled town, which dates back over three centuries. 
Though the sun burned fiercely down upon the 
pavement, the streets were full of animation. 
Spaniards, Frenchmen, Englishmen, Germans, 
Americans, especially soldiers, mingled with the 
Filipinos of allconditions and crowded up and down 
the Escolta. This part of the city presents about 
the same appearance as the business portions of 
old European towns. Though there were no 
strictly modern buildings, there was plenty of 
modern business going on in the old buildings. 
The Germans seemed to be holding the largest 
share of the trade, but the English were also well 



154 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

represented. American firms had , already estab- 
lished a number of branch houses. 

The Americans have certainly given the saloon 
trade an immense boom, and the old as well as the 
new resorts of that kind were overcrowded. There 
was one establishment on the Escolta, the San 
Miquel, headquarters of the San Miquel brewery, 
which did a rushing business. The San Miquel is 
owned and managed by Bavarians and is the only 
one in the island, as it retains from the former gov- 
ernment the sole monopoly of brewing and selling 
lager beer on tap. Its headquarters on the Escolta 
were newly decorated and furnished in the most 
sumptuous manner, as soon as the Americans made 
their appearance. Two hundred American soldiers 
were often seated at the small round tables, clam- 
oring for the busy waiters. Not only was the drink 
unadulterated and delightfully cool, but the rooms 
themselves were a refuge against the beastly tor- 
ridness outside. We laid in a stock of Manila 
cigars, at prices ranging about half of those in the 
States for the same quality of goods. But I could 
never fancy the odd taste about these cigars. 

Scarcely a quarter of a mile from the Escolta in 
the new town the way leads over the bridge of 
Nino to the walls of the old fortified town of 
Manila. The walls and the moat of course are 
falling into decay, for of what use are walls now 



THE MONKS 155 



against modern cannon balls? The remains of 
a drawbridge guarded by American soldiers, afford 
access over the moat to the old city gate. Im- 
mediately to the right, inside of the walls, part of 
the great Dominican university was being used for 
barracks and mihtary headquarters. The greater 
portion however, of the Dominican establishment, 
and the church, were still occupied by the monks 
and students. I first entered the church, which is 
built in the renaissance style peculiar to the eastern 
colonies of Spain and Portugal. The portals are 
remarkable for the exquisite carvings. Inside the 
solemn stillness, the half-gloom of richly colored 
windows, the artistic decorations, the costly 
statues and altars are calculated to cast the charm 
of true Catholic devotion over pious visitors. 

Seeking for some one who could give me more 
information, I passed through the sacristy in the 
rear up a wide flight of stairs, leading into the uni- 
versity convent. Some boys conducted me to the 
room of the padre sacristano. He was sitting at 
the open window of the spacious room, conversing 
with two of his confreres. They were stoutly 
built men in the white Dominican habit and their 
dark complexion easily betrayed them as Span- 
iards. They did not recognize me as a priest, 
until I told them, and even then I somewhat 
suspect, that they doubted, whether I was not 



156 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

after all a Protestant minister. I was dressed as 
a traveler, though with my Roman collar, but 
they do not seem to recognize that as a part of 
the clerical dress. Nevertheless they made me 
welcome, though I had intruded so unceremoni- 
ously. With the help of the Spanish that I had 
learnt and the smattering of English, that one of 
them knew, we managed well enough. They began 
to get curious in their questioning about the United 
States, but showed no ill disposition towards the 
change in government. As far as I could gather 
from their conversation, they would be satisfied 
with any arrangement which the new state of 
affairs would necessitate in regard to their future. 
I purposely mentioned the hostility of the 
natives to their and other orders. But that did 
not seem to cause them much concern. Most of 
it is only an exaggerated report to begin with. If 
their hostility could not be overcome, they said 
they would seek refuge in Spain or some other 
country and find plenty of work to do. In the 
meantime they were trying to accustom them- 
selves to the new state of affairs and they had even 
now introduced the study of English as a regular 
branch in the curriculum of the university. I 
afterwards met several other monks who had 
already learnt EngHsh very well. They invited 
me to remain a few days and I would no doubt 



FALSE ACCUSATIONS 157 

have been their guest during my stay in Manila, 
if consideration for my companion had not pre- 
cluded such a course. The friar showed me the 
extensive college buildings and the church. Here 
were abundant proofs of the good, which the monks 
have done on the islands. For over 200 years 
the youths of the islands have been educated in 
these spacious halls. The black teak floor-deals 
of the wide corridors and spacious rooms were 
worn smooth by the feet of many generations of 
young people, who have received training not 
inferior to that of European countries. Hosts 
of generous souls have occupied the cells and 
issued forth from them in their errands of piety and 
devotion for the welfare of the people among which 
they had settled. In the church are works of high 
art produced by the very natives whom they had 
educated, and the church itself is a monument of 
the zeal of the monks in the service of God. Surely 
here the visitor finds no corroboration of the 
exaggerated accusations and silly slanders which 
envy has spread in America about the Philippine 
monk. 

Just one word about these accusations. It is 
said, that the Filipinos are especially hostile to the 
Dominicans, Augustinians and Recollects; that 
they accuse them of exorbitant greed and laxity 
in morals. It is a noted fact however, that not 



158 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 



the best elements of the FiHpino people are the 
originators of the accusations. People of the 
stamp of Aguinaldo, rebels to the Spanish as well 
as to the American government, and renegades to 
their faith, are the loudest in their accusations. 
Any sane person will at once see, that such persons 
will make much of even ordinary lapses and will, 
without regard to truth or justice, exaggerate the 
real faults of those, that will not join in their 
treason. Against their accusations, however, 
stands the incontrovertible fact that the monks 
have civilized the islands, have converted the people 
to the faith and dotted the whole country with 
churches and schools. If some abuses have crept 
in, they are accidental and they cannot vitiate the 
good already done. The monks are accused of 
greediness, but by far the greater portion of their 
temporal acquisitions are applied for the good of 
religion. Their numerous and rich churches are 
places of worship for the people ; their colleges and 
schools serve to educate the young; their landed 
possessions on the islands afford not only the funds 
for the maintenance of the churches and schools, 
but give employment and support to hundred 
thousands of Filipinos, who would otherwise be 
left to their own resources. Besides, even if the 
monks were to use all their possessions merely for 
selfish ends, wherein v/ould be the wrong? Were 



MONKS' WORK 159 



they not the first settlers and the first civiHzers? 
Who blames the great land owners of our country, 
or of England, because they dare to hold their 
possessions for their own use? 

Wherein probably these monks made a mistake, 
is in mixing themselves up too freely with the 
Spanish government of the islands. In many of 
the smaller places, where they were estabhshed 
as parish priests, they had also the office of alcade, 
attending to the administration of justice and 
collection of taxes. Of course this is foreign to 
their institute and they now pay the heavy penalty 
of disaffection among a portion of the people. 
But at the same time, in the beginning of the 
civilization of the natives, this office in many places 
almost naturally devolved upon the missionary. 
If they would have withdrawn from such service, 
when no longer necessary, no harm would have 
come from it. The work of converting the natives 
and of building churches had been so exclusively 
done by them, that naturally the entire govern- 
ment of church affairs was in their hands to the 
exclusion of the secular clergy, the more so, since 
the bishops all belonged to religious orders. Con- 
sequently the native secular priests were mere 
curates, depending for their positions upon the 
monks. This is an abnormal condition of affairs 
in the Catholic church and against the spirit of 



160 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

monasticism. When monks become ambitious 
to govern and monasteries try to enrich themselves 
through the incomes of the church, they are bound 
to get into trouble much sooner than secular 
priests. Their usefulness in a country is much im- 
paired and some one, wicked and unjust enough, 
will inevitably turn up to raise the storm that 
sweeps them out of the country. God watches 
over His chosen ones and will send the hurricane, 
which transplants the good seed remaining in a re- 
ligious order to other regions, where they will take 
root and bring forth the fruits of eternal life in 
new labors. Prosperity is the ruin of many a man ; 
too much material prosperity is also the poisonous 
leaven that destroys the usefulness of religious 
orders and causes them to die a violent death in 
some regions of the globe, in order that they may 
rise with renewed life and vigor in other places and 
times. This is probably what will happen with the 
monks in the Philippines, and, as we have seen, 
they are not unaware of the probable outcome. 

Then, as to the accusations of immorality which 
have been so boldly made it would be strange, if 
among so great a number of men, one or the other 
would not have fallen in the course of three cen- 
turies. The cases are so few, that to make the 
accusation of immorality against the whole order, 
would be the grossest slander. Envy and hate 



PREPOSTEROUS SLANDERS 161 

have magnified a hundred fold a few transgressions, 
which perhaps have happened years ago and for 
which the guilty ones have been severely discipHned. 
The enemies of the faith pounce upon these exag- 
gerated accusations, like vultures on the rotting 
carcass, and hold a sumptuous feast of viHfication 
and calumny, disgusting to every well-informed and 
unprejudiced mind. 

In short, if the full truth could be brought out, 
I have no doubt that the religious orders in the 
Philippines would soon stand before the world 
as great benefactors through whom alone Chris- 
tianity came to the natives and the advantages of 
civiHzation. That in the course of several cen- 
turies the persistent pioneers should grow rich 
and influential, that they should make the mis- 
take of interfering in the worldly government and 
not yet have given up their hold on it, and that a 
few instances of iUicit intercourse should occur, is 
not surprising. They do not claim to be angels 
yet, though they are, as a whole, striving to ap- 
proach that state. We do not blame other men, 
who accumulate possessions by honest exertions, 
especially if they benefit the country thereby; we 
do not kill off a whole stock of race horses because 
one or two of that breed happened to stumble in 
the last races over some obstruction on the race 
track. Why should we then insist on just that 



162 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

kind of treatment for the monks in the Phihppines ? 
Are they outlaws, to be condemned and shot at 
sight ? We consider lynching a crime : the accused 
gets no fair trial. The monks in the Philippines 
get no trial at all. The criminal in the court of 
law is presumed innocent until a specific crime is 
proved against him, though he bears the worst of 
records. The monk is presumed guilty of the most 
abhorrent conduct and immediately condemned 
on hearsay, though the proofs of a most excel- 
lent public and private life speak loudly in his praise. 
During my stay the soldiers frequently asked 
whether peace would not be declared soon. They 
were not doing much fighting and they were 
getting tired of serving as police, guards, patrol- 
men and in other positions of civil government. 
No serious encounters had happened in the past 
few weeks. The farmers in country districts 
were resuming their work in the fields. The 
Filipinos as a whole are of a peaceful disposition. 
A few ring-leaders at the head of armed hands 
may keep the interior of the country in alarm for 
some time, yet they will no doubt submit after- 
wards and be satisfied with American rule. How- 
ever, after the insurrection has once been entirely 
suppressed, it is an open question whether it would 
not be better to give the islands their independence, 
on the score both of utility and of justice. 



MOONLIGHT STROLL 163 



In the evening Mr. Havers proposed a walk up 
the Calle de Ermita, on which avenue our hotel is 
situated. It was a beautiful moonlit night and 
as we walked along, the aromatic scent of tropical 
plants filled the gentle breezes. Farther up the 
street we passed some beautiful residences and 
clubhouses, surrounded by luxurious gardens 
where the lights gleamed out from the dark foHage. 
Returning on a neighboring and parallel street we 
heard, now and then, light banter and soft strains 
of music, proceeding from the trees and shrubbery 
that surrounded these more modest dwellings of 
natives. A patrol of American soldiers was met 
at every block, singularly out of place on these 
quiet and peaceful avenues. 

We were late in going to rest, for the heat was 
oppressive even in the night, and much more so for 
people who had come from a country, where at this 
time of the year they are accustomed to be kept 
busy piUng coals upon the fires. The beds were 
a sort of couch made of woven caning, with a few 
sheets for covering. Posts at each corner of the 
couch support the mosquito netting, that is sup- 
posed to ward off the winged and blood-thirsty 
musicians of the night. On account of their per- 
sistent attacks and the sultry heat we had little 
sleep, though all the windows and sHdes were open 
Hke in a summer house and though we were well 
tired out by the day's sight-seeing. 



164 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

Since 5 o'clock in the morning I had heard the 
bell of San Jos^ church in the next block giving 
the signals for the beginning of masses and calling 
the faithful to attend the services. Father McKin- 
non is quasi-rector of this church for the foreign 
Catholics, while a Jesuit attends to the special 
needs of the Filipinos of the parish. Every morn- 
ing when I arrived to celebrate mass, I found quite 
a number of the faithful devoutly kneeling on the 
hard stone flags of the pavement, while a number 
of retired or extern priests offered up the daily 
sacrifice. The San ]os6 church, though once no 
doubt a fine edifice, was much out of repair. 

On one of the mornings a Filipino couple were 
just getting married. They were kneeling in 
front of the communion railing with their relatives 
and friends. From the number of women present, 
I conjectured, that here, just as in Chicago, a 
marriage cereniony is sure to attract the women 
in much greater number than the men. While the 
priest was saying the prayers and witnessed their 
marriage vows, a wreath of flowers was wound 
around the bride and bridegroom, entwining them 
both together, a beautiful symbol of the sacra- 
mental bond, that from now on would unite them 
forever in life and death. During low mass it is 
the rule here to burn four candles, which in other 
countries is a privilege of the bishops only. At the 



REV. McKINNON 165 

church doors candles were bought by some of the 
devout and seemingly well-to-do Filipinos; these 
they lighted as they entered the church, and 
moved on their knees from the rear of the church 
over the stone floor to the communion raihng. 

After Mass we procured a letter of recommenda- 
tion from Rev. McKinnon to the captain in charge 
of the railroad to Dagupan and easily obtained 
permission to board the north-going train. The 
railroad was still in the hands of the military and 
was reserved exclusively for the use of soldiers 
going and coming to Manila from outlying posts. 
Several hundreds of them were on our train of 
battered cars and we obtained seats in one of the 
better coaches only by the courtesy of some of the 
officers. The train was made up of third and fourth 
class European coaches, that must have seen at 
least forty years of hard service. Going out we 
passed through a district, which seems to be the 
native quarter of Manila. It swarmed with 
Chinese, Malays, and Filipinos in all descriptions of 
dress and undress. Most of the lower class of 
laborers, carriers, draymen, freightmen, being 
Chinese or Malay coolies, have merely a covering 
around the middle, while the hot sun strikes down 
mercilessly on the other parts of their dusky 
bodies. The Filipinos mostly wear white duck, 
and as a general thing the women are decently 



166 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

dressed. The houses in this part of town are but 
mere huts made of bamboo and covered with 
thatched roofs. 

Along the road the signs of the late war or in- 
surrection were everywhere evident. Especially 
around the straggling towns that we passed after 
we had left Manila, the remains of breastworks, 
and battered walls of buildings, were frequent. 

Nearly all the churches along the way were 
blackened heaps of ruins. Every foot of ground 
northward to Dagupan was obstinately contested 
by the Filipino insurgents and they naturally en- 
trenched themselves in the stronger buildings, 
such as stationhouses, warehouses, factories and 
churches. The fact, that they invariably set fire 
to churches before they were forced to leave, speaks 
very unfavorably for the leaders of the insurrec- 
tion. The ravages of war were particularly fre- 
quent around the towns of Calumpit, Giuciuto and 
Malolos. We passed several sluggish rivers, among 
which were the Bagbag and Rio Grande del Pan- 
ango, across which General Funston is said to have 
swum gun in hand. As a rule, the soldiers were 
doing well, only a small percentage of the 65,000 
then on the islands being troubled by the ordinary 
complaints of dysentery, malaria or the dobe itch. 
They are certainly well taken care of by Uncle Sam 
and are abundantly supplied with all the neces- 



SAN FERNANDO 167 



saries. Foreigners are surprised at the vast ex- 
penditure which the Americans are making for 
suppHes. On the whole the Americans seem to 
make good soldiers, but they are too apt to indulge 
in cursing and swearing and to treat the natives 
with great disdain. 

Browsing in the fields, we occasionally saw the 
dark-colored caraboas, a kind of buffalo with huge 
horns and considerably larger than our cattle. 
They are mostly used for draft and field work and 
serve also for food. They like pools of water and 
once v/e saw a youngster standing on the back of 
one of these animals, as it sank to the neck into a 
muddy pool. The country through which we 
passed is a marshy plain, stretching to the western 
coast and is well adapted to the cultivation of rice. 
On the higher patches occurred also banana and 
cocoa plantations and some scattered localities 
were covered with trees. Little life could be 
noticed in the towns. At the stations the children 
crowded around the train to sell lemonade and 
other home-made drinks. The soldiers stationed 
at the towns, crowded around the lumbering train 
as it came to a halt and noisily greeted their com- 
rades on the cars. 

At about noon we reached San Fernando, one 
of the larger towns along the road. Here some 
of the officers and many of the soldiers left the 



168 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

train to go to their stations inland. The heat was 
very oppressive and for a short time the canteen 
near the station did a lively business. One of the 
soldiers, who had served his term, had put up a 
canvas covering and was selling out drinks at 
25 cents a glass. A couple of coolies in the rear of 
the shed were also kept busy in giving lunches. 
The atmosphere was hazy and sultry and the 
ground was parched with heat and drought. I 
do not think many Americans would fancy staying 
in this country a long time ; for, if this was the 
temperature in February, what would it be in July 
or August ? 

The town of San Fernando lies somewhat to the 
right of the railroad. There were substantial 
buildings in the center of the town, such as the 
alcalde's residence and other houses for the former 
government officials. Now they are occupied by 
the American army officers. The rest of the 
town is composed of the airy bamboo huts and 
small shops. Conspicuous in the middle of the 
town were the ruins of a large church. It must 
have been a beautiful church, but now only the 
blackened walls were standing and the interior 
was a mass of ruins. During the call which we 
had made at the army headquarters in San Fer- 
nando, the captain and the surgeon had told us, 
that this church had been obstinately defended by 



RUINS 169 



Aguinaldo and a band of Filipinos. Seeing, how- 
ever, that he could not hold out much longer, 
Aguinaldo, before leaving, gathered 83 of the Chi- 
nese living in San Fernando and locked them in this 
church. Then having placed a cordon of soldiers 
around the building, he set fire to it and thus 
cremated the unfortunate Chinese alive. The 
Americans arrived too late to save either the 
building or the Chinese. 

This story seemed to us highly colored, but we 
were told some remnants of the bones could easily 
be found in the ruins, though the greater part of the 
remains had been buried. This we found to be true, 
and my companion has some of the bones of the 
murdered Chinese in his possession to this day. 
A spacious plaza opens up in front of the ruins and 
several buildings formerly used for municipal and 
government purposes surround the plaza. There 
was no hfe in any of the streets, probably on 
account of the great heat at noonday. A Fihpino 
secular priest resided on the other side of a creek, 
that intersects the town. Seeking for corrobora- 
tion of the story about the Chinese, we called at his 
modest residence. It seems he likewise had retired 
for his siesta, for it was quite a while before he 
made his appearance in the upper roora to which 
the attendants had conducted us. His house was 
airy enough, for it was built almost entirely of split 



170 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

bamboo and consisted of two stories. Even the 
floors were made of the same material, the round 
sides of the bamboos being turned upward. They 
were worn quite smooth by the naked feet of the 
inmates and there was not much need of sweeping 
the floor, since the dust simply dropped below to 
the next story. The lower story of the house was 
almost entirely open. The priest wore a white 
muslin cassock. He seemed to have about a score 
of attendants, young and old, who swarmed around 
the premises. Upon inquiry, he readily corrob- 
orated the story about the burning of the Chinese, 
which we had heard at headquarters. 

Again we boarded the train, which passed 
Fernando in the afternoon on its way from Dagu- 
pan to Manila. It was made up of a much battered 
set of cars, which originally had come from Eng- 
land and no doubt had previously done service 
there for many years. Outside they looked some- 
thing like a smaller size of our cattle-cars, inside 
they were partitioned off into coupes by seats 
running transversely from side to side. There 
was no upholstery, some of the windows were 
battered in, doors slammed to and fro on single 
hinges, blinds only half hung to their fastenings and 
dirt and dust covered the seats and the floor. A 
good many of the soldiers were standing in the 
freight cars which made up the rest of the train. 



A WRECK 171 



A veteran frame of junkiron did service as a loco- 
motive, wheezing out puffs of steam as it started 
and struggling laboriously along from station to 
station. 

Before we got back to Manila a heavy tropical 
rain poured from the thick clouds. We had to 
change our position continually in order not to 
encounter the streams which poured through the 
injured roof of the cars. The rain was not refresh- 
ing, for it filled the atmosphere with dampness 
without in the least abating the sultry temperature. 
We were just wondering, how much longer it would 
take us to get to Manila, when there was a sudden 
crash, a dead stop and a jumbling of passengers, 
who were knocked off their seats and spilled out at 
the side doors. The throttle had refused to work 
and the locomotive ran hopelessly into a freight 
train ahead. Some of the soldiers were bleeding 
from the effects of the collision, though we our- 
selves had escaped unhurt. Like a veritable 
cripple, the old engine stood with his nose pushed 
into the rear end of a freight car. Fortunately the 
collision happened on the outskirts of Manila, so 
we simply performed the rest of our journey on 
foot. The portion of the city which we had to 
pass was swarming with natives who seemed to 
have gathered for a fair or bazaar, which was held 
under large wooden sheds. 



172 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

Being fatigued, we had more sleep this night, 
though it was just as sultry. All the windows 
and slides were kept open, and as I awoke several 
times during the night a strange collection of 
sounds broke the stillness of the night. From 
the neighboring barracks, the creaking of old bed- 
steads as the soldiers turned on their sleepless 
couches; the tread of armed guards, or the low- 
spoken commands of the sergeants as the watches 
were changed; across the street, the hectic cough 
of an old woman in the last stage of consumption; 
in the yard beneath our window, the effusions of 
lovelorn tomcats in the moonlight, interrupted 
now and then by the rattling of beasts on their 
chains in the stables on the ground floor, or by 
the heartrending braying of a mule in the rear: 
all united in weird concert through the small hours 
of the night. The fatigue of the day, however, 
very often proved stronger than this nocturnal 
concert and would soon woo us again to sleep. 

We had intended on the following morning to 
take a trip up the Pasig River on one of the pas- 
senger steamers, but when we arrived at the wharf 
after our breakfast, all the regular boats had left; 
our only chance now was to make the trip on one of 
the government supply tugs that pass up and 
down the river and ply on the series of lakes con- 
nected with it and of which it is the outlet. We 



UP THE PASIG 173 



applied to the captain of the port and on showing 
the letter of Fr. McKinnon of yesterday, readily 
obtained permission to make the trip on board the 
tug "Diamond." 

As there were two hours still to spare until 
the "Diamond" would be ready to depart, we put 
in the time strolling through the liveHest streets 
of Manila. Soldiers were everywhere in evidence, 
lounging in front of their barracks or drilling on 
the plazas. Filipinos, Malays and Chinese swarmed 
along the streets in the fresh morning sunlight. 
Passing an old bridge, which leads over a canal of 
the Pasig, we came upon a spacious plaza, at the 
farther end of which stands one of the oldest 
churches of new Manila. As we entered, a crowd 
of beggars surrounded us, who were made glad with 
a few pennies. Masses were still going on and 
quite a number of people were kneeling on the 
stone pavement, for there are no pews in these old 
churches. 

The tug "Diamond" was in charge of Captain 
Campbell and manned by a Tagalo engineer and 
fireman, a cabin boy and about a dozen of soldiers. 
The boat was to bring a stock of provisions to dif- 
ferent stations along the river and the lakes. After 
passing under the old bridge of Ninos, the river 
banks presented picturesque scenes, characteristic 
of Manila. The freight is mostly carried by the 



174 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

cascoes, large boats, that are propelled by poles. 
The coolies walk along a narrow platform on the 
outside of the gunwales to the head of the casco, 
and, having found bottom with their long 
poles, begin to push the boat forward by walking 
back, bracing themselves against the poles. Thus 
they themselves remain stationary, while the boat 
glides forward under their feet. When the boat has 
moved its whole length of fifty or sixty feet, the 
coolie pulls out his pole and returns to the head of 
the boat to begin the operation anew. On the 
rear end of the boat a roof of bamboo mats affords 
shelter to the inhabitants of the casco against 
sun and rain. A ridge pole also runs along the rest 
of the boat, over which mats are spread for the 
protection of the cargo. 

We soon passed two more bridges, one of them 
built entirely of iron and donated to the city by 
the monks. In the outskirts of Manila, on the left 
river bank, the San Miquel brewery is situated. 
Connected with it are some fine villas and summer 
houses, showing that brewing is a paying business 
even at our antipodes. Now and then a boat party 
would meet us, who seemed bent on pleasure, for 
their boats were trimmed with flowers and the 
Filipino men and women were gaily dressed. 
Music with song and laughter resounded over the 
placid waters of the widening stream, that now was 



RAVAGES OF WAR 175 

bordered with green lawns and woodland. It must 
have been washing day, for in the sheltered nooks 
under the shady trees, women and girls with occa- 
sional men were busy washing piles of cotton or 
linens, for these materials are preferred by the 
natives for garments of all kinds. They wash 
their clothes by slapping them against a rock 
or post, now and then dipping them into the 
stream. The women had their dresses tucked up 
while standing up to their knees in water and in 
merry talk and laughter kept beating the different 
articles of wear over the jutting rocks. Others 
were on the lawn, spreading out the snow-white 
linen to dry in the sun. 

About noon we came to the small town of San 
Pedro. Half of it was in ruins. The monastery 
and the church on the hill were so battered, that 
they are deserted and almost hidden by the tropical 
vegetation that had sprung up around them. The 
Tagalogs had made a very determined stand here 
and had set fire to the monastery before they were 
driven out. A little farther up the river a settle- 
ment, that had contained some large buildings, 
had been entirely burnt down; but so fast had it 
been covered with the tropical vegetation, that 
from the boat not a vestige of the ruins could be 
seen. Here most of the soldiers and some pro- 
visions were unloaded. The beef, which we had on 



176 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

board, had been imported from Sydney, Australia, 
as there are hardly any cattle on the islands ex- 
cept the caraboas or native buffaloes. Even 
these are getting scarce, and besides, the Ameri- 
cans do not like the meat of the caraboas on ac- 
count of its peculiar taste. 

The current of the river now became quite 
swift as the Moriquino joins it from the left a half 
mile farther up. We rounded the Pasig to the 
north, where it widens out into the Laguna de Bay, 
shallow and grown with wild lettuce at first, but 
afterwards deepening and forming a series of lakes, 
surrounded by picturesque mountains. In the 
rainy season as much as 1 40 inches of rain falls and 
these lakes are then raised to a much higher level, 
flooding all the lowlands. At about three o'clock 
a large casco full of half-clad natives was paddUng 
across the lake a few miles ahead. To judge by 
the hurry in which they tried to reach the left hand 
shore and the anxious glances they cast our way, 
they must have been on some nefarious errand. 
Putting on more steam our tug almost headed them 
off. But as we had only four soldiers on board we 
of course could not think of capturing 30 or 40 of 
the sinister looking Tagalogs. They could not 
use their poles as the lake was far too deep, but they 
nimbly pHed their paddles, that looked like long- 
handled frying pans. No doubt they had weapons 




BARN AT SANTA ANA, WHERE WAR BEGAN. 
CHAPLAIN m'kINNON IN FOREGROUND 



'INSURRECTOS" 177 



concealed in the bottom of their boat and were 
in communication with a band of insurgents in 
the mountains. The sinewy form of the helms- 
man at the stern was clearly outlined in the bright 
sunshine as we passed about fifty yards astern. 
Our captain shouted across the water "Muchos 
insurrectos," which made them use their paddles 
more nimbly than before. They evidently had 
expected an attack, but as that was not the errand 
of our little tug, they escaped with the scare 
we had given them. Probably if they had known 
how few persons we were, they might have turned 
the tables and attacked us instead. 

The American Trading company had bought up 
nearly all the cascoes in the neighborhood of 
Manila and was doing a lively trade in buying up 
supplies from outlying settlements and bringing 
merchandise in return. We met many of their 
cascoes either going or coming from the different 
stations on these lakes. Two large ones our tug 
had taken in tow and our captain had good natured- 
ly engaged to bring them to the foot of the towering 
mountains, which soon appeared beyond a head- 
land at the southern sweep of the lake. Though 
the landing place did not seem far off, yet the extra 
work of towing the heavily laden cascoes and a 
stiff breeze in our face retarded our progress, so 
that the sun was already hovering over the western 



178 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

horizon, when we were still many miles from the 
shore. 

As the sun sank over the western mountains, we 
witnessed a most beautiful sunset. Streaks of 
clouds rose above the mountains through the 
mellow sky. Like heaps of molten gold they 
flashed back the sun's rays, then assuming a rud- 
dier hue as the sun sank lower, tinged the moun- 
tains as with lurid fires. The intervening stretches 
of sky assumed a greenish golden hue in the west, 
while the cloud islands of the eastern heavens 
turned a darker and darker red in the azure firma- 
ment. Gradually the brilliant colors of the west 
subsided, and the queen of night began to assume 
her sway in the clear heavens. 

As we neared the shore at the foot of the moun- 
tain, there was a parley between the managers of 
the cascoes and our captain, who seemed to be 
unwilling to tow the cascoes any farther. But 
the native boatmen were afraid of being turned 
loose so far from shore and finally prevailed on 
him to proceed somewhat farther; so, towing them 
within half a mile of the landing place, he left them 
to manage as best they might. Our tug, now freed 
from its drag, bounded over the waves in an oppo- 
site direction, around the headland, which we had 
passed during the afternoon, and at about ten 
o'clock at night we arrived opposite the town of 



A RESTLESS NIGHT 179 

Morong, which lay about a mile away. The screw 
ceased its churning and the captain shouted across 
the water to some people shoreward, whom we 
could not see in the darkness. At last he received 
answer, and after awhile a casco came up to take our 
four soldiers and the provisions ashore. 

After about an hour, quiet reigned on our little 
craft which was anchored in shallow water. The 
captain offered us a place in the small cabin below, 
but we preferred to lie on the open deck under some 
canvas sheets, which had been used for covering 
the provisions. It was lucky, that the captain 
furnished us with a woolen blanket also, for it 
turned decidedly chilly during the night. The stiff 
canvas spread on the hard planks of the deck, did 
not furnish an over-luxurious resting place and the 
blanket was none too large for me and my com- 
panion to huddle under. Besides all this, my com- 
panion conscientiously furnished his usual install- 
ment of stertorous music, which continued more or 
less all night. He complained in the morning 
that I was a restless bedfellow, for I had waked him 
from sweet slumber innumerable times by my 
nervous jerks with my elbow or my foot. Whether 
I had done it consciously or unconsciously, was a 
question, which I managed to give a wide berth. 
Still these wakeful intermezzos were not of long 
duration; the silence of the night, the rippling of 



180 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

the waves against the sides of the boat and the 
fatigue of the day soon lulled us to sleep again. 

Early in the bright breezy morning our boat 
took aboard half a dozen soldiers and started on 
its return trip. The different lakes and inlets are 
enclosed by wooded hills and the sun sent its bril- 
liant morning rays over the glittering water and 
romantic landscape. The soldiers told us, that 
two weeks ago the insurgents had made an attack 
on Morong and killed two of their comrades. But 
they seemed tired of being sent out in pursuit of 
bands in the hills ten or fifteen miles off and find 
not a trace of armed resistance on arriving. Some- 
times in the night, fires were seen on the hill- 
tops, which were thought to be signals between 
different bands. But there was so little show of 
armed resistance in the greater part of Luzon, that 
most of the soldiers were anxious to be recalled for 
more active duty somewhere else. The soldiers 
gave witness to the morality of the native women: 
they will not listen to any solicitation, and any 
familiarity with them exposes the man to the risk 
of being considered and followed by the woman 
as her lawful husband afterwards. 

Gregorio Guaghardo, the native engineer on 
board our tug tells me, that most of the FiHpinos 
go to school and can read and write Spanish. Nor 
did we see anything in the appearance of the 



AN EXCURSION 181 



Filipinos to make us doubt this. Of course in 
Manila there are thousands of coolies from China 
and from different countries of Oceanica, who are 
only half civilized and do the lower class of work. 
But it would be wrong to confound them with the 
Filipinos, Luzon and most of the other islands 
are long ago converted to the Christian religion. 
The only exception is the Sulu group, which is 
inhabited by Moriscos or Mahometans. Before 
returning to our hotel, I hired a banco, or native 
canoe, to make arrangement on the Palitana for our 
voyage so Singapore. I found the time of her 
departure suitable and the accommodations fairly 
good. 

For the afternoon Rev. McKinnon had hired a 
carriage in which we were to take a drive around 
the city. Our first stop was at the church of St. 
Sebastian, on the right side of the river. It is 
built entirely of iron, the different parts of which 
were imported from Belgium. It is a large struc- 
ture and not without architectural beauty. The 
two towers rise nearly two hundred feet into the 
air. Its great gothic windows are real works of 
art in colored glass. A half mile farther on we 
passed the palace of Montojo, the former Spanish 
governor, and a sumptuous residence of Hop Sin, 
a rich Chinaman. Here our way led across the iron 
bridge called Puente de Ayala and built for the 



182 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

public by the religious orders. Near the bridge is 
a large cigar factory, employing several hundred 
men. 

Across the river and in the outskirts of the 
city we visited several institutions, over which 
Fr. McKinnon had a sort of supervision and whose 
interests he advanced with the new government. 
At the orphan home of San Jose and the Escuela 
di Misericordia we saw some remarkably fine needle 
work and embroidery. The latter is an academy 
conducted by the sisters of charity and the chapel 
and other buildings, as well as the gardens around 
it, gave witness of the former prosperity of the 
institution. The insane asylum is also in charge of 
sisters. In its chapel we were shown the places 
where the bullets of the insurgents had pierced the 
walls during the fight in this surburb of Manila. 

We were getting into the Paco district, where the 
fighting between the American soldiers and the 
Filipinos inaugurated the late war. On both sides 
of the road of Santa Ana, over which we were 
passing, many ruins were seen as witnesses of the 
war. At a distance from the road a solitary square 
block-house marked the spot where over two 
hundred were killed. While tending to the 
wounded in this field, Chaplain McKinnon was 
twice fired upon by the Filipinos, but he happily 
escaped with a slight wound in the head. Even 



THE CEMETERY 183 



here the insurgents were finally dislodged and 
pursued step by step northward to Calucan, San 
Fernando and Dagupan, disputing every foot of 
the way. 

Re-entering the city we drove along the smooth 
parkway lined with fine residences. On this avenue 
is also the old cemetery, surrounded by high walls. 
They do not bury the dead in Manila, but place the 
bodies in vaults, built into the walls; large enough 
to hold the coffin. The opening of the vault is 
sealed up with a stone flag. There are many of 
these vaulted walls, which intersect the grounds 
in symmetrical rows. The vaults are rented for the 
space of five years. If at the end of that time a new 
payment is made, the body is left undisturbed, for 
another period of time; otherwise the bones are 
taken out and thrown into the charnel yard, which 
is an open enclosure behind the chapel. Going up 
the steps to the top of the wall of this enclosure, 
we saw heaps of human bones bleaching in the sun. 
It is said that the American authorities are object- 
ing to this practice for sanitary reasons. A num- 
ber of the American officers, who met their death 
in the fight with the insurgents are buried in a 
beautiful plot of ground, forming part of this 
cemetery. 

We crossed new Manila to enter the old town 
within the walls. This portion presents the scenes 



184 O^ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

of a typical old Spanish city: decaying palaces, 
convents, crumbling residences, narrow streets, 
cobblestone pavements. Our carriage rattled on 
in good style through the crooked streets to the old 
cathedral. This is a venerable structure, mostly 
in gothic style, though it has no real towers. It 
abounds in artistic carvings inside and out, covers 
a large area of ground and easily bears comparison 
with some of the old cathedrals of Europe. Vast 
marble pillars support the three naves of the 
ceiling. A magnificent high altar rears its marble 
turrets aloft in the transcept. In front of the 
cathedral extends a spacious plaza, part of which 
forms a small park. Facing this park to the right 
is the palazzo de Justizia, which was then occu- 
pied by General Otis and his staff as military 
governor. 

Father McKinnon had the kindness to procure 
us an invitation for a formal visit to the governor. 
We accordingly passed up the marble stairs to the 
general's apartments. The sumptuous halls and 
corridors and the richly decorated apartments 
of this palace, show that the former lords of the 
islands knew how to surround themselves with the 
same pomp as is customary in their mother country. 
General Otis asked me, whether I would not like 
to stay in the islands, as there would be plenty 
of work for Cathohc priests. I was not in a 




ST. SEBASTIAN, STEEL CHURCH IN MANILA 



VISITS 185 



position, of course, to give a definite answer to the 
proposition. I was told, that General Otis believed 
in a policy of conciliation as most effectual in 
bringing the Filipinos to subjection. Not far from 
the plaza de Justizia is the residence of the Domini- 
can archbishop of Manila, Nozaleda, whom we 
also visited. This prelate seems a very mild- 
mannered gentleman and is filled with the earnest 
desire of settling the difficulties of the monks, 
which their peculiar position on the islands has 
brought about. He likewise invited me to re- 
main and gave me all the faculties of the diocese 
during my stay here. As it was already getting 
dark, we drove back from here to our hotel, passing 
the Luneta. 

According to a previous arrangement we betook 
ourselves on the next morning to the residence of 
the apostolic delegate, Msr. Chappelle. We were 
received by the private secretary, Steinmanns, and 
conducted upstairs to his Excellency. He had 
been apprised of our presence in Manila by Rev. B. 
and V. H., who had visited him some days before. 

In regard to the late war with Spain, he was of 
opinion that the war was rather unfairly forced upon 
Spain, and he had maintained that standpoint also 
in presence of those that had been influential in 
hastening on the war. Nevertheless he thought 
that now, since the war was ended, the United 



186 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

States could not give up the islands either to Spain 
or to the insurgents. When he was consulted by 
the members of the peace commission in Paris, as 
to what he thought the fairest course to pursue in 
regard to the Philippines, he gave it as his opinion, 
that the United States should not keep the islands 
as spoils of war, but should buy them. 

The interests of the Catholic church demanded 
without doubt, that the islands be saved from the 
hands of the insurgents. The leaders of that 
movement were enemies of the priesthood and of 
the CathoHc church, who would simply use their 
power to confiscate all church property and in- 
augurate a reign of terror. In this apprehension 
Msr. Chappelle was entirely justified, as is proved 
by the devastation of churches, of which the insur- 
gents were guilty during the war and which I had 
seen in so many places. There were other reasons 
for favoring the retention of the Philippines by the 
United States, at least for the present. The 
Chinese empire would no doubt play an important 
part in the history of the next few decades of years. 
England, Russia, Germany, Japan, France, were 
lying in wait for the spoils of that country. If the 
United States were in possession of the Philippines, 
so close to China, American interests could be safe- 
guarded much more effectually. Why not keep 
that advantage for the present ? General Otis had 



LOOTING 187 



shown himself very well disposed toward the mis- 
sion of the archbishop. The Filipinos are a docile 
people, and as regards the difficulties concerning the 
religious orders, his Excellency had hopes of a 
satisfactory settlement. 

The Americans have infused new life into Manila, 
as was acknowledged not only by the old residents, 
but was easily to be noticed everywhere on the 
streets. The general feeHng in Manila is, that the 
American occupation of the Philippines will be 
beneficial. The sale of beer and liquor evidently 
takes the lead in the business boom, but other 
branches have their share. Fortunes have been 
made by enterprising individuals, especially Ameri- 
cans, by the sale of a single kind of commodity. 
Of course a good deal of this boom is due to the 
American soldiers, who spend their money very 
freely. 

I made it a point during my stay in Manila and 
my excursions in the country to get as near as 
possible to the truth of the accusations of church 
looting by the American soldiers. I found very 
little to confirm it and became quite convinced, 
that nearly all the looting that was done, was per- 
petrated by the insurgents. First of all the fact 
that the heads of the insurgents were mostly 
fallen-away Catholics and members of secret 
societies, favors presumption against them. Then 



188 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

is it not probable, that those who almost invariably 
set fire to churches before leaving, would not 
hesitate to take out of them whatever seemed 
valuable and portable? Only a few days ago the 
trunk of Aguinaldo was found in one of the northern 
towns. It contained a large number of precious 
articles looted from different churches. When the 
Americans entered a place, previously held by the 
insurgents, they would find the sacred vestments 
and other articles, that were of no value, scattered 
about in the sacristy or sanctuary, whereas the 
more precious vessels were generally missing. All 
this must be no doubt sufiicient evidence to create 
at least a presumption against the infidel bands, 
that claimed to be fighting for the freedom of the 
country. 

I made a number of inquiries among the soldiers 
and officers, whom I met during my stay. From 
their uniform testimony it appears, that all reason- 
able precautions were taken by the authorities, 
to prevent the looting of Catholic churches. Cap- 
tain Godfrey of the 22nd artillery and Lieutenant 
Baldwin of the 32nd, told me on the train to 
Fernando, that the first care of the officers in charge 
on entering a town, was always to place a guard 
at the church doors, who would be made respon- 
sible for any looting. The soldiers, though some- 
times hard pressed, were not allowed to camp in or 



INQUIRIES 189 



around churches. A strict order had been passed 
in San Fernando, that any sacred vessels in the 
possession of any of the natives or of any other 
person, should be seized and brought to head- 
quarters to be turned over to the nearest priest. 

In a conversation with Sergeant F. J. McCarthy 
of Chicago, whom I met at San Miquel, he told me 
that, probably, in the first weeks of the conflict 
some of the soldiers from the Pacific states might 
have taken sacred articles in a few instances. But 
strict orders were immediately issued, prohibiting 
such acts. He himself in one instance knocked 
down one of his comrades, a renegade Catholic, 
with the butt of his gun as he attempted to appro- 
priate some valuables from the altar in a church. 
For this act he was not only highly commended, 
but promoted shortly afterwards, whereas the 
looter was severely punished. In another place, 
where the Americans had finally dislodged the 
insurgents from a church, they found it pillaged 
and denuded of all valuables. During the night 
one of the American soldiers took a fancy to a 
painting of the Madonna in the walls and he cut 
out a portion of the painting. A strict search 
resulted in the conviction of the guilty one. He 
was sentenced to one year's imprisonment and a 
fine of one hundred dollars. 

Besides all this, I think a great deal of the noise 



190 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

was made about the amount of loot in the hands 
of improper persons. Of course, I am aware that 
the amount in suoh a thing is immaterial, since 
even the smallest articles stolen from sacred places 
constitutes a crime not to be tolerated in the eyes 
of a Catholic. It will always be a sacrilege, even if 
committed only once. But if the looting of churches 
was carried on to such an extent as was asserted, 
certainly many of the sacred articles should have 
been found especially in Manila. For the soldiers 
would naturally try and get rid of the burden as 
soon as possible and sell it to the numerous Chinese 
shops in Manila. Such however was not the case, 
as I spent a whole forenoon trying to find church 
loot in the second-hand stores and other shops 
without finding even a trace. 

In my walks around Manila the people did not 
as a rule recognize me as a priest, though I wore 
a Roman collar. The priests on the islands wear 
the full tonsure and are dressed in their cassocks, 
even when going out, but they do not wear Roman 
collars. I had to assure the natives, with whom 
I had any intercourse, that I was a Roman Catholic 
priest. Some of them had already been ap- 
proached by the ubiquitous Protestant ministers, 
who had represented themselves as identical with 
the Roman Catholic priests. They called them- 
selves ministers of the "true Catholic church" in 



THE OBSERVATORY 191 

order to impose on the simplicity of the Filipinos^ 
who of course do not know anything of the warring 
of the sects in other countries. 

For the afternoon Fr. McKinnon had made an 
appointment for us at the Jesuit college within 
the old walls, but we had misunderstood him to 
refer to the Jesuit college in the new town, not so 
very far from our hotel, where also the renowned 
observatory of Manila is located. Thither we 
directed our cuchero to take us and we waited, in 
vain of course, for the appearance of the army 
chaplain. Father Doyle, one of the Jesuits, finally 
started out to show us the different buildings, 
without waiting any longer for Rev. McKinnon. 
The observatory occupies a building apart from 
the college and ranks among the best equipped 
in the world. It has telephone and cable connec- 
tions with foreign countries, which pay a stipu- 
lated price for information of important changes 
of the weather, especially such as have bearing on 
navigation. Through all the stories iii the center of 
the building a soHd column of masonry rises from 
the ground. To this are attached the instruments 
of observation in the different apartments. Es- 
pecially remarkable were the several instruments 
for observing the seismic disturbances, the ap- 
proach of storms and typhoons on the seas, the 
fall of rain, the changes of the weather and the 



192 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

velocity and direction of the winds. There is a 
continual trembling of the earth on the island, a 
fact which we could easily verify by a glance at 
the instruments attached to the pillar. 

For many years the records of the more notable 
seismic disturbances were preserved on charts as 
they had been traced by the faithful instruments. 
They looked like outline drawings of icebergs. 
In a separate portion of the observatory, under 
its great movable cupola, were mounted the great 
telescopes for astronomic observations. The sys- 
tem of swivels and cogwheels, by which the instru- 
ments are brought into position, is of the latest 
and most improved make. There was also a 
reminder of the late skirmishes in the shape of a 
bullet, which had pierced the thick brick wall in 
the tower, knocked off some of the plaster on the 
inside and now peered insidiously from the wall in 
which it was still imbedded. From the roof we had a 
fine view of the Paco district, where the insurgents 
began to fire on the Americans. While passing 
through the extensive gardens, we were charmed 
by the sweet clear voices of some 150 boys, who 
were just then having their singing lesson in the 
college. Coming back to our hotel we settled our 
hotel bills, which we found quite reasonable, and 
got ourselves ready for departure on the morrow. 
J had bought a very light gray suit, as the Chicago 



THE PHILIPPINES 193 

clothes were altogether unfit for wear in the tropical 
climate. 

In the morning Father McKinnon had the 
kindness to see us off and he told the cuchero to 
drive through the old town instead of the nearer 
way over the Luneta. If the Spaniards had any 
spirit in them, they could have easily held Manila 
against the Americans by intrenching themselves 
behind the strong wall of the old town. But it 
seems the land force was in no better condition 
or spirit for a fight than the sea forces. Near 
the Escolta we bade farewell to Father McKinnon, 
who had shown us many favors during our stay. 
We had some delay before the departure of the 
lighter for the Palitana, and therefore I appHed 
at the custom house for the pistol, which I had 
left there on landing. But it required some sharp 
words and a threat of making complaint at head- 
quarters, in order to bestir the snobbish officials 
to procure it. The tug consumed nearly an hour 
in clearing the tangle of cascoes and other shipping 
on its way out to the Palitana. 

It may not be amiss to give a short description 
of the Philippines, since they now form part of 
our dominions. About 1 200 islands belong to the 
Philippine group, of which however only some 
400 are permanently inhabited. The total area 
is about 115,000 square miles, 112,000 of which ar§ 



194 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

contained in the eleven larger islands, Luzon con- 
taining over 41,000 and Mindanao over 33,300. 
The balance of the area is included in the islands 
of Samar, Panay, Mindoro, Leyte, Negros, Cebu, 
Boho, Palawan, Masbate, Catanduanes and the 
rest of the numerous islands. Luzon contains most 
of the inhabitants, nearly 5,000,000; Panay is next, 
with over 1,200,000. The group ranges down from 
within two hundred miles of Formosa 19 degrees 
N. L., to the neighborhood of Borneo, 5 degrees N. 
L., about a distance of 1350 miles in a southwesterly 
direction. The original inhabitants seem to have 
been Negritos, but they have almost disappeared 
before the invading Malay races, the principal 
of which are the Tagals and the Bisayans. Immi- 
gration from China and the neighboring countries, 
and also from Spain, gave rise however to a nu- 
merous mixed population, especially in the sea- 
coast towns. There are not over 500,000 Spaniards 
on the islands. The islands are practically a 
Catholic country and the monks have the credit 
of having converted them to the Christian faith. 
The Philippines were first discovered by Magel- 
haens and on Matan, one of these islands, he met 
his death in 1521. In 1564 Philip II sent a fleet 
from South America and subjected the islands to 
Spanish rule. The Dutch and the English later 
on attempted to gain possession without success. 



THE INSURGENTS 195 

The Philippines were ruled by a captain-general, 
sent over from the home country. Each province 
and larger island had its lieutenant-governor, who 
were subject to the captain-general in impor- 
tant matters. The provinces were divided into 
townships, which elected a deputy governor, 
who acted as mayor, judge and magistrate for 
the township. It seems the monks have mixed 
up a good deal in civil affairs and held offices in 
some places, where there was no longer any excuse. 
Thus it is quite natural, that they should get into 
trouble. In the last few decades several insur- 
rections against Spanish rule occurred, the last one 
in 1896, headed by Aguinaldo. The measures 
taken to suppress it proved ineffectual. When 
Dewey swooped down from Hong Kong and de- 
stroyed the Spanish fleet, Manila and the islands 
passed into the hands of the Americans. How- 
ever, the United States paid $20,000,000 for 
"improvements" to Spain, not wishing to retain 
the islands merely as a conquest. This was done 
principally on the advice of Msgr. Chappelle. 

The insurgents at the time of the occupation of 
Manila united with the Americans, but soon after- 
wards wantonly attacked the American soldiers. 
There was no other course for the Americans than 
to put down the insurgents with a strong hand 
and the Filipinos are a great deal themselves to 



196 O^ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

blame for having spoiled their chances of inde- 
pendent government. Aguinaldo and the other 
leaders of the insurrection have proved themselves 
to be a set of ambitious and faithless adventurers 
and no doubt would have brought about a worse 
state of affairs on the islands, than ever would 
be possible under Spanish rule. I do not see 
how Catholics can waste any sympathy on such 
renegades to their faith as Aguinaldo. If such 
people would ever have attained to power in the 
Philippines, there would have been sHm chances 
for the Catholic church. It is better to have 
Protestant preachers invading the islands and do 
what they can by persuasion, restrained by the 
laws of U. S., than to put the supreme power of 
government into an irresponsible and infidel 
band of renegade insurgents. 

On board the Palitana we found an assembly 
of people hailing from many countries: Germans, 
Poles, Russians, Scotch, English, Americans, oc- 
cupying first and second cabin, mostly Filipinos 
in the third class, and a swarming crowd of Chinese, 
and Malays in fourth class. We had not been on 
board an hour, when a fierce and angry clamor 
arose on the deck on which the latter were huddled 
together. Already blood was flowing and im- 
mediately the several hundreds of the Malays 
and Chinese formed into factions and murderous 



PRACTICAL HINTS 197 

hatred shone from their eyes. Several times 
during this voyage the fierce brawl was renewed and 
could be quelled only with the utmost difficulty 
by the officers of the ship. There is a bitter hatred 
everywhere in the Orient against the Chinese, 
especially against the traders and the coolies, and 
fierce brawls must be expected, wherever they are 
brought in close contact with Malays and where 
there is a sprinkling of the proud Mahometans. 

There were a number of sea captains in second 
cabin, who had just sold their coasting vessels to 
the American Trading company. The PaHtana 
was surrounded by a score of lighters until late 
in the afternoon to finish her cargo, although she 
was advertised to leave at one o'clock. But 
finally the word was given, the soldiers, who were 
sent as a guard on board of every vessel during 
its stay in the harbor, descended to their launch, 
our anchor was weighed and the huge black hull 
of the steamer moved onward to the entrance of 
the bay at Corregidor. Before the sun had set, 
the steeples of Manila had vanished from our view. 

Practical Hints. — For Americans it would not do 
of course, to miss a visit to the Philippines, if they 
are in the neighborhood of China or Japan. There 
are several lines of steamships from Hong Kong 
running twice a week and the British India boats 
run between Singapore and Manila. It is good 



198 O'ER OCEANS AND CONTINENTS 

to provide light clothing, for the Philippines are 
far within the tropics. It seems the route from 
Hong Kong to Manila is more subject to stormy 
weather, than that from Singapore to the same 
town, for the former passes through a noted breed- 
ing place of storms and typhoons. In accordance 
with this, our passage from Hong Kong was 
accompanied by very foul weather, whereas the 
passage from Manila to Singapore was over a most 
tranquil sea with the finest kind of weather. 
Besides, if one intends to visit both Singapore and 
Hong Kong, as is generally the case, the best plan 
is not to take a return ticket to either of these 
places, but simply to make the detour to Manila 
on the route between the two. It will save time 
and needless return trips over the sea. Of course 
the most necessary and at the same time the most 
difficult thing to do on this trip is to "keep cool." 



THE DELIGHT OF THE UNIVERSE 

{Suggested by "Chtdad de Dios") 

THE INVOCATION 

Omnipotent, All-knowing, Uncompassed, 

Inscrutable, Immense, Majestic, Vast 

Eternal Essence, God, Creator! Hear 

The prayer poured forth in lowly, awestruck fear, 

By vilest dust of earth, by groveling worm, 

That mutely rears from filth of sin its form 

In dim presentiment of things divine 

Which through life's gloom obscurely shine. 

O show me Her, the beauteous Sovereign, 

O'er all creation set as highest Queen; 

Thy fairest Daughter; free from Adam's curse; 

The crowning grace of all the Universe; 

Who, God-o'ershadowed, free from touch of man, 

Yet bore The Man, in whom our weal began. 

My soul ! Desist ! How canst thou wing thy flight 
In mortal coil, to such aspiring height? 
In mortal coil? Yes, coil of flesh and bone, 
(Though not like Hers, unstained,) from Adam 

grown. 
From Adam? — From him, who was the fountain- 
spring 

199 



200 "CIUDAD DE DIOS " 

Of all our race on earth ? — Then let me sing, 

Of Her, Delight of all the Universe, 

Since She, untainted, sprang from self-same source ! 

SUPPLICATION 

Sovereign Lady, on suppliant knee 

Look on thy slave seeking guerdon of Thee 

Let but a ray of thy Wisdom illume 

My spirit, that lingers in darkness and gloom. 

The light of God's truth, piercing heaven and hell, 

But faintly can gleam in what syllables spell. 

Teach me, how God, the Creator of all, 

Thee held intact from Adam's first fall 

Clothed Thee in splendor, Creation's high Queen, 

Set Thee as loadstar of all his vast reign, 

ADMONITION 

Sweet Reader! now, for heavenly things 

Compose thy gentle soul, 
While we God's veiled mysteries 

Now tremblingly unroll. 

To prophet, seer and mystic saint 

Is given heavenly light: 
We also shall God's guidance feel 

In seeking truth and right. 



^^CIUDAD DE DIOS'^ 201 

Forbear if staggers human tongue 

At boundless mysteries ; 
For words can only stammer forth 

That which the spirit sees. 

ETERNITY 

Before all times, when the Divinity, 

Yet motionless, had not embodied forth 

Successive acts in number, time and space. 

But rested, though progenitive in love, 

In one enduring act, effect and cause, 

All One ; where the Producer was Produced 

In triune love by the Essential Act ; 

Because the Act itself was Essence, and 

The Essence, Act, which shall forever be 

Unfathomed by angelic or the human mind: — 

Ere yet the Eternal shadowed forth 

Eternal Ages by creating time, 

Past, present or the future: then, O Word, 

Wast Thou, and Thou wast God, the Father's Word, 

And with Him breathing forth the Holy Ghost, 

Triune, distinct, yet consubstantial, 

One God the Three, and Thou the Son of God. 

Of Thee the loved Disciple, wrapt in God, 

Hath said: "In the beginning was the Word: 



202 '^CIUDAD DE DIOS^^ 

The Word was God." "AH things were made 

through Him," 
"Who was made flesh and dwelt among us men" 
With glory crowned and full of grace and truth. 
In the beginning Thou ? — ^Then unbegun, 
Unbound by time, eternal, fore all else. 
Existence pure, whence all beginning flows. 

FiscAR Marison 



AUTHOR'S ANNOUNCEMENT 

Second Series will contain: 

Singapore, Burmah, India, The Himalayas, 
Goa, Egypt, Jaffa. 

Third Series: 

Jerusalem, Palestine in Bedouin Garb, Syria 
and Islands of the Mediterranean, Constanti- 
nople, Through Turkey, Greece, Corfu, Naples. 

Fourth Series: 

Ramblings through the European Countries 
and an Excursion through North Africa. 



fcS&SLSS^S 



\L02S 320 QIQ 2, 



